Yahoo News Blyth student who spoke no English after escaping war in Syria secures bright future with A Level results
A Northumberland student has seen tremendous success against unthinkable odds on A Level results day, having arrived in the region five years ago after escaping the war in Syria.
Arya Abbas and her family, who are from Kurdistan, fled the conflict in their home country to come to Blyth, where Arya and her older sister Evlina began studying at Bede Academy. At the time, Arya spoke no English when she started in Year 8 - but that hasn't stopped her from achieving a top set of A Level results today (Thursday, August 15), with an A in chemistry and Bs in maths and biology.
“It was difficult at the start and I had to get used to it, but I built relationships with teachers and asked for help after school and also joined in different activities,” Arya explained. “I took on the role of deputy head girl in sixth form. I did work hard since coming here so that the later years for GCSEs and A Levels could be easier.”
READ MORE: A Level results 2024 LIVE: Scenes of joy across the North East as students find out grades
Arya will now go in to study pharmacology at Newcastle University. “I like chemistry and how drugs work inside the body. I want to work in the field of medical research and eventually do a masters that will allow me to delve deeper into the field,” she said.
Arya's sister Evlina, who is studying architecture at Liverpool, returned to Bede to watch her sister collect her results, and see an artwork she did for her A Level in 2022 that is still mounted on the wall at the Academy. And Arya is not the only student at the school to have been inspired by the success of their older sibling.
Among the other high achievers at Bede today were friends Eve Turner and Leah Johnson, who are looking forward to taking up prestigious level seven apprenticeships with two of the country's leading accountancy firms after successfully completing their gruelling application processes. Thousands of students applied for the opportunities with Ernst & Young and Deloitte, each of which only take five apprentices each summer.
Head Girl Eve is hoping her grade A in psychology and grade Bs in business and history will confirm her place with Ernst & Young, with a back-up offer at Durham University, whilst Leah has chosen Deloitte with her three A*s in maths, geography and business having had offers from both firms.
The friends began the application process last September and underwent five stages of assessments, interviews and work experience. Leah is following in the footsteps of her brother Lewis, who also secured three A*s in his A-Levels at Bede Academy two years ago and is halfway through his apprenticeship with Deloitte.
Another Bede student to have been inspired by their sibling is Jayci Barclay, who wants to be a PE teacher like her sister Abbie, a former student of Bede Academy who now teaches there. The sisters come from a sporty family led by dad Alan, who played ice hockey for Whitley Warriors and spent countless hours taking his daughters to netball and hockey matches and supporting them from the side-lines.
