Back of the net for two Brookfields GCSE students

But two students from Chesterfield’s Brookfield Community School have done their bit to keep the country’s performance respectable.

Olivia Fletcher scored eight As, one B and two Cs, while Zinzi Ebong racked-up four As, three A*s and four Bs.

Both said they were well chuffed with their results.

“I have done better than I thought I would,” said Olivia. “I’ve been having nightmares and waking up at 5am.

“But I can out of all of the exams thinking I had done alright - I have had a set way of revising since Christmas.

“Sometimes it all went to pot and I had a few major breakdowns but it all worked out.”

Olivia now plans to attend sixth form and hopes to pursue a career in forensic criminology.

Zinzi said feeling well prepared for the exams had helped her confidence while sitting them.

She added: “For most of them I used my own revision methods but for triple science I read the specification online and read it like it was the Bible.

“It’s been really stressful because I felt like my parents expected a lot from me but I just forgot about that and got on with it.”

She now plans to attend sixth form, studying biology, history and English and then take a break from education.