As pupils collected their GCSE results from the sports hall at The Derby High School in Bury, screams of delight could be heard from the doorway.
Groups of teenagers huddled together to eagerly rip open their white envelopes, squealing in delight as they received heartfelt congratulations from teachers and their peers.
One standout example was former head girl at the school, Areeba Malik, 16, from Bury.
READ MORE: Updates as students across Bury get their GCSE results
Areeba achieved eight 9s and one 8 in her GCSE results this morning, Thursday, and was joined by her mum, dad and younger sister.
She said: “I’m so happy I got what I wanted. Thank you so much to all the staff at the school who have helped me.
“Thank you to my mum, dad and little sister too – I couldn’t have done this without them.”
Areeba is going to Holy Cross College to study biology, chemistry and psychology with a view to practicing medicine in the future.
Inaya Junaid, 16, from Radcliffe, is also off to Holy Cross College to study biology, chemistry and mathematics.
She gained nine GCSEs in total with two 8s.
Inaya initially wanted to train as a teacher but changed her mind during the pandemic.
She said: “Since seeing the effort of key workers in the pandemic, I decided that I want to work for the NHS and help support them.”
Headteacher, Ms Helen Hubert, said: “Our students have once again shown that hard work really does pay off.
"We have seen incredible results across the board with students surpassing expectations and securing grades that will support them with their future career ambitions.”
She acknowledged that many young people have faced challenges but have embraced the support on offer from their teachers and worked together to achieve some “fantastic results”.
Emaan Bokhari from Bury passed nine GCSEs with seven 8s.
She will be studying at Holy Cross and again, hopes to go into medicine.
Emaan said: “A lot of my family members are doctors. I’ve shadowed them and been inspired by the work they do. I’d like to go into cardiology or be a surgeon.
“I was nervous last night and didn’t sleep much but am happy with the outcome today.”
Tyler Turnock achieved six GCSE passes with one 8. He also received a D2 in sports and will be off to Bury College this year to study computer science.
Harvey Davies from Bury also gained GCSE passes in all of the ones he took and a D2 in sports. He was joined at the school by his parents and will be off to Nando’s later to celebrate.
He has already started a structural engineering apprenticeship in Manchester.
Ms Hubert added: “We are immensely proud of our Class of 2024 and are hugely grateful to all in our team here at The Derby High School who go above and beyond to provide an excellent education.
“We are here to help them thrive and are confident that their experiences at the school will inspire our students to make a difference as they journey through life.”
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