POLISH twins who arrived in England two years ago without being able to speak a word of English are celebrating a strong performance in their GCSE exams.
Adrian and Sebastian Kucia, who come from Krakow, had to adjust to a new life in Darlington when their father got a job in the town as an engineer.
And now they have both achieved strong passes across the curriculum at Haughton Academy, with Adrian getting an outstanding grade 8 in maths.
Adrian now wants to be an architect, while Sebastian has ambitions to be a personal trainer.
Fiona Campbell, Assistant Head Teacher at Haughton Academy, said: “What they have achieved in such a short time is incredible and a real testament to their resilience and hard work.”
Adrian said: “It was really hard when we first arrived, especially to learn the language, but we made friends and we felt more comfortable after a year. We are really proud.”
Haughton Academy decided to put the whole of Year 10 through the English Language exam a year early and two pupils – Danni Greenfield and Bethany Higgins – achieved the top grade of 9, putting them amongst the top three per cent in the country.
Brooke Mason’s performance was described as “outstanding” with a grade 9 in English Literature, an 8 in Maths and a 7 in English Language, as well as seven A*s and two As.
Rose McEwan achieved an 8 in English Language and two 7s in English Literature and Maths, as well as two A*s and two As.
Gemma Challans was another high achiever with three 7s in English Language, Literature and Maths. She also got three As.
Principal Jonathan Lumb said: “The results show steady progress across all subjects for this cohort of pupils and we’re especially pleased with a huge improvement in Maths.”