There were tears of joy and sadness across London today as tens of thousands of A-level students got their results.
While some schools celebrated record results, there was a fall in the proportion awarded an A or A* grade for the first time in over two decades — causing an anxious wait for some students.
Shinnel Paras, from Edmonton, a pupil at La Sainte Union in Highgate, will have to wait to find out if her first-choice university will accept her after she missed out on two A grades by just eight marks.
Her three Bs are good enough for a place at Brunel, but she will learn tomorrow if they will get her into Aston University in Birmingham.
Shinnel, 18, said: “I had my heart set on Aston, I want to study international business and economics. It would have been better if they had just said straight away if I was in or not. When you put your heart into something, it is heart-wrenching .”
Twins Rebecca and Alex McGoran, both 18, were among the pupils at Glenthorne High School in Sutton celebrating record-breaking results. A third of them achieved As or A*.
The twins achieved almost straight As and decided to call it a draw after years of rivalry.
Alex said: “We are very competitive with each other. We do karate and really knock each other about. At least in maths we sometimes give each other a hand.
"We are both going to Royal Holloway College now, although one of us was initially refused because they thought we were the same person”.
