Resilience and determination define Egglescliffe School’s GCSE success
A student who had to ‘learn to live again’ after the death of her father is celebrating success after reaching the next step of her journey to become a doctor.
Egglescliffe School student Sophie Boanas-Levitt saw her life turned upside down just before her mocks.
But the 16-year-old, of Eaglescliffe, secured top results when she opened her GCSE results achieving grade 8 in maths, grade 7 in physics, geography, computer science, chemistry and biology and grade 6 in English language and literature. She will now stay on at sixth form to study A levels in biology, chemistry and maths, before aiming to read a degree in medicine at Oxford.
“It was a stressful time and I gave up in Year 10. I came back into school after two weeks and everyone knew about it but I felt depressed and lost motivation. I had to start again in Year 11 and put in so much effort to catch up. I was upset with my mocks and I isolated myself from everyone. I’d go to bed at 6pm and not talk to anyone at school.
“Then I realised I had to sort myself out so I started talking to others and my teachers about how I was feeling. Dad’s death was a major shift in my life and I tried to hide from it. I had to learn to live again, forcing myself to work, keep on top of my revision, see friends and as my social circles widened I had a reason to get out of bed in the morning.”
Sophie has wanted to work in medicine from being a young child. “My mum was born deaf and I learned British Sign Language even before I could talk,” she said. “When I was about eight I also used to dress as a doctor when I played.
“In 2020 I developed epilepsy and had a seizure once a month. It takes a lot out of me when I have a seizure and the meds make me drowsy. I had no energy and some days I’d be in bed at 8pm. Then I was put on new meds and I haven’t had a seizure in two years. I am still drowsy and it’s hard to concentrate in exams but it is manageable. My dad used to push me and I know I can do well but sometimes need that extra support.
“Now, I’d like to be a GP, rather than work in a hospital, because I did work experience in a practice and it was great to see the relationships and the bonds doctors had with their patients.”
A North-East born Chinese student was glad to be able to sit his GCSEs after a bureaucratic mix up left him stranded in Holland and facing deportation to China.
Egglescliffe School student Pierce Zhong attended a Scouting Association jamboree in the Netherlands just as his residency card was about to expire.
He had to travel to the Hague and the British Embassy and was told it could take a month to sort out.
In the end Pierce showed his out of date card to Border Control, his father also sent them an image of his new card and he was allowed in.
“I thought I was facing deportation and 20 years in China,” said the 16-year-old who secured an amazing profile of high grades for his GCSEs – grade 9s in biology, chemistry, English literature, history, maths and physics, grade 8 in French and grade 7 in DT and English language. He will now stay on at sixth form to study A levels in physics, chemistry, biology and further maths, with the hope of gaining entry to Oxford or Cambridge universities one day.
“I love technology and would like to do something with rockets or electric vehicles,” he said. “I’m really interested in what China is doing with EV infrastructure, particularly how robots swap vehicle batteries over rather than having to wait to charge. But there are also exciting opportunities in America so I could end up going either east or west.”
The memory of her family’s humble beginnings in India proved to be a motivating factor as Sophia Singh collected a brace of top grades in her GCSEs; grade 9 in English language, history, RS and science, grade 8 in English literature and maths, grade 7 in music and grade 6 French.
“My dad grew up poor and moved here when he was 15,” said the 16-year-old, of Ingleby Barwick. “He hadn’t done that well at school but got an engineering apprenticeship, then a degree and masters. I think I must have his work ethic which pushed me to do well at school.”
She now plans to study A levels in English literature, history, philosophy and maths with the hope of reading law at university, hopefully Durham.
“I’d like to work in employment and discrimination law as there is still a lot to do,” she said. “I took part in the Law in Schools competition and we won the regionals. I have always wanted to help people.”
Head of School Neil Gittins said: “We are incredibly proud of what our students have accomplished. These results reflect not only their hard work and commitment, but also the dedication of our talented staff who support them every step of the way. What stands out most is the resilience and determination our students have shown during a challenging time. We’re excited to see where their journeys take them next.”