A North Yorkshire school has seen success at the double with two sets of twin sisters achieving 41 A* and A grades in their GCSEs.
India and Mia Richmond, of East Cowton, together with Emily and Katie Platt, of Romanby, shared their success at Northallerton School and Sixth Form College.
The 16-year-old girls, who were in many of the same classes, achieved very similar sets of results.
India Richmond, who is older than twin Mia by nine minutes, said: “I was more nervous for Mia than for myself. I’m normally better at maths and I helped her in her revision, then she ended up with a better grade than me. We are pretty much the same across our subjects.”
Mia, who achieved six A*s, four As, a B and a C, added: “I didn’t want to do worse than India, but I didn’t want to do better either. We’re pretty competitive but we’re both pleased with our results.”
The sisters are staying on at Northallerton to do biology, chemistry and maths A levels. Mia will also study English literature, with a view to becoming a vet, and India, who gained two A*s, eight As, a B and a C, will do further maths as well to boost her chances for medicine.
Emily and Katie Platt look set to do exactly the same A levels - biology, chemistry, maths and history - although Katie, who wants to be a dentist, may swap maths for geography.
Katie, who achieved five A*s, six As and a C, said: “We revised separately but towards the end we’d get together and test each other.”
Older by 20 minutes Emily, who matched Mia with six A*s, four As, a B and a C, added: “It was helpful to have each other if we didn’t understand something, but Katie usually understands everything.”
The twins celebrated with top performing boys Josh Form and Ross Coombes.
Josh, of Brompton, gained a rare ‘A hat’ grade in further maths – a grade higher than an A* - along with eight A*s and four As.
“I wasn’t expecting an A hat at all. I didn’t really know what to expect, I was just hoping to do as well as possible. It’s a good idea to set your target as high as possible even if you don’t reach it, rather than aim too low,” said Josh, who moved to Northallerton with his family seven years ago.
“It’s been fun here. I’ve built a good relationship with the teachers and feel confident about asking for help if I need it,” he added.
Josh, an artist who also plays the piano and drums, is staying on to study A levels in maths, physics, chemistry, further maths and art.
His music teacher and sculptor dad Joolz added: “I’m incredibly proud of Josh. We moved here from East Durham for the school and the staff have really helped him meet his full potential.”
Ross is also staying on to study science and maths A levels with a view to reading medicine at university after achieving eight A*s and four As.
“I put in a lot of hard work both at school and at home so I’m glad it’s paid off. The teachers here are absolutely fantastic and have helped everyone all the way through.”