SITTING your A-Levels is hard enough without falling down a flight of stairs and breaking your ankle during your exams.

But Philippa Smith, a pupil at Our Lady’s Abingdon, managed to get A*s in English Literature and History and an A in Art despite having her leg in a plaster cast.

She fell down some stairs during a lunch break while sitting her Art controlled assessment.

The 18-year-old from Appleford, who is now going to the University of Edinburgh, said: “My leg was in plaster for all my written exams, so I just tried to stay focused on getting the results I needed. I didn’t expect to do so well in the end.

“I went to A&E but I made up the time when I went back to school in my lessons. My teachers were really supportive.”

The Radley Road school saw a jump in its results with 47 per cent of the 36 pupils taking A-Levels getting either an A* or an A while 72 per cent got an A* or a B.

Stephen Oliver, the principal of OLA, said: “My congratulations go to all our students who collected their results today – all their hard work has paid off, and I wish them well as they move on to university life.

“These results are excellent, with almost 20 per cent of the year group achieving straight A*s and As.”

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