Triumphant twins off to uni despite major operations
AMONG the students celebrating their A-level results in Wales yesterday were three sets of twins.
It was a long journey for identical twins Abigail and Rebecca Smith to get to the big day. The 18-year-old sisters have had to battle through pain and repeated operations after being diagnosed with debilitating brittle bone disease.
The inspirational pair, students at St Cyres Comprehensive School in Penarth, have suffered a number of fractures throughout their school lives, have had their share of major operations and have missed two years of school as a result. They also suffer arthritic-type pain on a daily basis.
The twins will be separated for the first time when they head to university after passing three A-levels each. Abigail will be studying biology at Aberystwyth University, while Rebecca will be studying ancient history at University of Wales in Lampeter.
Born three and a half months premature at 27 weeks, the pair, who will celebrate their 19th birthdays on Monday, suffer with chronic pain and take strong painkillers to counter the disorder.
“It’s a genetic condition but they didn’t know we had it when we were born prematurely, they only knew when we first started to break,” said Abbie.
A catalogue of fractures followed as the pair grew up, the most serious of which saw Abigail discovering she had spinal fractures, which took two years to rectify, while Rebecca suffered with a bone infection for four years. Then last year Rebecca also broke her knee. Both also suffer with degenerative hearing loss – a common side-effect of somebody with brittle bones, and Abigail and Rebecca now wear hearing aids.
They said they are grateful to the staff of St Cyres who have helped them achieve the grades they needed to study at university.
“It’s been really difficult but the school has been so helpful,” said Abigail. “They’ve been very supportive, given we’ve missed so much of school and they’ve tried to help us catch up.”
The twins’ mum, Michaela Smith, said she was proud not only of what her daughters have achieved, but the odds they’ve overcome to get where they are.
“I’m so proud of them that they’re going to university,” she said. “This year has been really painful for them physically, but academically they’re always pushing through. The only thing I’ve ever wanted for them is to enjoy education and carry on learning.”
Also heading to university is a para-swimmer who competed in a world series competition the day before her exams.
Bethan Eckley and her twin sister, Megan, are the first in their family to go to university.
They will both go to their dream universities in September after receiving their A-level results at Welsh-language high school Ysgol Glantaf, in Cardiff.
Para-swimmer for Wales Bethan will now go on to study photography at the University of South Wales after receiving two C grades and a distinction star in tourism.
It follows years of training nine times a week before and after school to compete against the world’s best paralympians.
Meanwhile, her twin sister, Megan, will go on to study law at Exeter University after receiving three As and an A* in the Welsh Baccalaureate.
For Bethan the achievement comes despite competing at the 2018 World Para Swimming World Series in Berlin and Sheffield during her exam period.
She said: “I’ve been competing since I was 11 years old. I train nine times a week – four mornings and every evening during weekdays.
“I do about 15 hours a week so I’ve had to balance that with my schoolwork.
“I had to travel to the World Series in Sheffield and compete before coming back for an exam the day after and then going to Berlin. Every second I wasn’t at the pool I was trying to revise.”
Bethan now hopes to carry on her swimming career while studying in Cardiff.
For the twins, having opposite interests has helped them cope with stress during the exam period. While Bethan excels at creative skills, Megan is better at subjects including history, geography and politics.
Megan said: “There was a lot of pressure but we got through it. We can’t revise together. I just write it again and again as I’m a visual learner and Bethan will use flashcards.”
Elsewhere, twins Ben and Max Thomas also smashed their A-levels, at Cardiff High School. Ben achieved two A*s and two As and is now off to study medicine at Nottingham University, while Max achieved two A*s and one A and is now going to read maths at Bath University.
Thomas and Jack Park both got their results at Gower College, in Swansea, and they were joined by mum Shona, who is a lecturer at the college.
Thomas had two A* and an A and is heading to Edinburgh to study medicine, and his brother, Jack, had three A* and is heading to Imperial College London to study chemistry.
In Merthyr Tydfil, a Polish student who studied science online before moving to the UK has completed all of his A-levels in a single year.
Casper Wrona, 17, achieved an A* in physics, an A in chemistry and a B in maths at Merthyr College. He had been learning chemistry and biology online in Poland before he moved to Wales.
He then told his new teachers he wanted to sit all of his exams in one year – and ended up doing 18 exams in just four weeks. His hard work has paid off and Casper is now going to Cardiff University to study chemistry.
Casper moved to Merthyr last year to live with his parents, who have lived here for more than 10 years.
He said: “I learnt a bit of chemistry and biology online, which really helped me. It was tough doing A-levels in one year but for me it was quite normal.
“In the first two weeks I spoke to the head of science and told him I wanted to do my A-levels in a year. They were shocked but were pleased with my progress so far so they said yes. I didn’t struggle with my English too much because I had learnt it in Poland, so it was OK.”
Mark Smith, head of science and maths, said the staff were instantly impressed by Casper’s drive.
He added: “Casper’s story is amazing and what he’s achieved is great. We were so surprised when he said he wanted to do his A-levels in one year but we believed in him and said ‘let’s give it a go’.
“His English was superb, including his written and spoken English, which was great and made it easy for him to settle. Casper had 18 exams in four weeks including practical exams but he got through it and we’re delighted for him.”
In Bridgend, a young carer with hearing loss has fulfilled her lifelong dream of getting a place at medical school.
Claire Williams is the first in her immediate family to go to university after getting three A grades.
The 19-year-old credited her brother, Matthew, who has Down’s syndrome and is on the autistic spectrum, with influencing her career decision.
She is off to Leicester University to read medicine after