All smiles for Elizabeth Garrett Anderson students: Eva-Marie Pornaris, right, who hopes to study medicine, with Ameera Mameri

A GIRL who wants to be a doctor after battling a host of health issues as a child is one step closer to reaching her dream after acing her GCSEs.

Eva-Marie Pornaris was one of hundreds of teenagers across Islington ripping open GCSE results slips yesterday (Thursday).

It was a special day for the pupil of Elizabeth Garret Anderson School who spent long periods of her youth battling with asthma, various allergies, and a blood infection.

Identical twins Jasmine and Jade Reed at Elizabeth Garrett Anderson

Eva-Marie said: “I was in hospital from a young age and I’ve seen first hand how much a doctor really means to a patient and especially to children. Paediatrics is what I want to do because I’ve gone through really bad doctors and really good ones, and I don’t want a child to feel what I felt with those doctors that didn’t understand and didn’t relate.”

Despite these health struggles, Eva-Marie bagged a raft of sevens, eights and nines for her GCSEs. She says she hopes to study medicine at Oxford.

Trey Corlis: ‘I’ve always known I want to be an athlete and that it’s going to take a lot of dedication and discipline’

Meanwhile, at City of London Academy (COLA), Highgate Hill, Trey Corlis, 16, said his GCSE results had given him the safety net he needed to pursue his athletics career in the 100m hurdles.

He says it’s his dream to make it to the Olympics. “I’m currently fourth in the UK in the under-17s, and I’ve run for England as well,” Trey told the Tribune.

City of London Academy, Highgate Hill, students display their scores: Younus Abib, Alfonso Ortiz Guzman, Cori-Ann Goulbourne, Sophie Igbinoke-Joseph and Jessica Sujeta-Metushi

“I’ve always known I want to be an athlete and that it’s going to take a lot of dedication and discipline … and that’s something I’ve always had. I’ve also learned that with athletics, if I hurt myself, that’s my career over, so I need a back-up.

“I did gas engineering during my work experience. My dad’s a carpenter and there’s a lot of people in my family who are tradesmen, so I’ve always grown up around that type of work. When I did the work experience, I realised it was something I could see myself doing.

Elizabeth Garret Anderson students Khoula Khan, Fahmida Ahmed and Shaimaa Mohamed

“I’m going to do a gas engineering apprentice­ship and get the qualifications I need to be a gas engineer, and that will be my back-up if anything happens to my athletic life,” he said.

Although he’s done well in his GCSEs, Trey says that he used to be “a very, very bad student”.

Students from Elizabeth Garrett Anderson including Iris, third from right, who gained nine As

“I never used to behave. Every maths lesson, I’d get sent out because I was not a good student … I just couldn’t concentrate, and I hated sitting in classrooms for long periods of time and listening to teachers talk,” he said.

Trey credits athletics with his new-found academic abilities. “I found somewhere to put that energy,” he said. “I just love to move.”

Council leader Cllr Kaya Comer Schwartz (centre) with joyful Highbury Fields School students, from left, Fadhail, Christina, Pronali, Jael and LeSharé; and Sarah Callaghan

Students were up against tight grade boundaries that had been pushed up to make it harder to achieve top marks. This was done after so-called “grade inflation” last year due to the knock-on effects of the Covid-19 crisis on exams. Consequently, the number of high marks achieved has fallen nationally.

Councillor Michelline Ngongo, centre front, joined the celebrations at Beacon High School. Back row: Ben Dunne, Islington Council secondary school lead; Sarah Evans Beacon High co-opted governor; and Tim Archer, Beacon High school committee chair; middle row: headteacher Alan Streeter, and students Daniel, and Yaseem; front row: students Giovanni Prabhleen

Principal of COLA, Highgate Hill Prince Gennuh described the new grade boundaries as “tough”, adding: “We should not forget the fact that these students went through the pandemic. I know at some point we have to come back to the pre-pandemic era, but I think it’s too early. These students would have benefitted from a bit of a buffer… Our top-end students have been impacted heavily by the grade boundaries.”

Headteacher pays tribute to Leonardo

Leonardo Reid

GCSE results day was a time for reflection at City of London Academy after the tragic death of a pupil in June.

Leonardo Reid, whose mother works at the school in Highgate Hill, was stabbed to death in Elthorne Road. He was just 15.

Yesterday, the school’s headteacher Prince Gennuh praised the students who had persevered through the difficult time.

He told the Tribune: “I just want to thank the students for their hard work and resilience. It was difficult, but it has strengthened us to be more caring and supportive of each other, because we didn’t expect this to happen to any child in any country in the world.

The memorial to Leonardo

“It was very sad, we lost him in a tragic way. He was a very positive student who was very clever – he was loved by everyone.

“His demise came as a shock to the whole school community. What I saw in the students, and the staff is community spirit. People came together to support each other.

“His mother still works here with us, and she’s an integral part of our school community.

He added: “I look forward to the future and brighter days ahead.”