Survivor sat GCSE hours later – and got A

A SCHOOLGIRL who sat a GCSE exam hours after fleeing the Grenfell blaze revised as the disaster unfolded, playing music on headphones to drown out the ‘terror’ around her.

Ines Alves, 17, yesterday revealed how she instinctively grabbed her revision notes after being woken by her father Miguel and told to evacuate the building in the middle of the night. Despite watching her family home burning during a sleepless night, the teenager turned up for the chemistry exam the next morning and was later awarded an A grade.

In written evidence to the inquiry, Ines said the Alves family sought sanctuary with friends who lived nearby. She described how she felt like she was in a ‘horrible dream’ as she tried to sleep, because of the commotion outside. Ines was given some headphones by her family friend and decided to study.

She recalled: ‘I hoped that would drown out the horrible noises outside. We started to hear people from the tower screaming for help. I still didn’t think lives would be lost but found their screams terrifying and terrorising.’

Ines said she ‘never considered’ not sitting the exam, adding: ‘I think I was on autopilot.’