Teen on a high after getting straight As
A STUDENT who sat her A-levels a year early is celebrating after achieving straight As.
Michaela Redhead, 17, who lives on Heybridge Lane in Prestbury, achieved four A grades in biology, psychology, geography and general studies, as well as an A* in an Extended Project Qualification, equivalent to half an A-level.
Her results rank her among the Withington Girls’ School’s top performers this year – no mean feat for someone who sat her exams a year before she should have done.
She said: “My mum cried when I found out, as she always does, but I was a bit annoyed they weren’t all A* as I’m a perfectionist!”
Also an accomplished piano player with a diploma in drama teaching, she hopes to study psychology at Durham University after a gap year and aims one day to become a performing arts psychologist.
She said: “Lots of musicians get stage fright and get into drugs and I would like to hope I could stop people doing that.”
Before she begins studying again though, she is planning a gap year abroad, taking in February’s Rio Carnival in Brazil, Namibia, Capetown in South Africa, Fiji, Bali and America.
Talking about her plans to work for a sanctuary for abandoned animals in Namibia, she said: “I love animals and am hoping to learn about animal psychology there.”
In Fiji she plans to teach and stay with locals in their homes, with a more adrenalin fuelled stay planned in South Africa, including cage diving with Great White sharks.
Currently working as a leisure assistant at Mottram Hall, the multi-talented teenager, who is also a three quarter black belt kickboxer, said: “I can’t wait but at the moment I’m saving hard as I’ll need about £10,000 to fund my trip.”