Brother of girl who got A in GCSE after fleeing Grenfell blaze: There is hope

Student Tiago Alves, whose younger sister scored an A in the chemistry GCSE she sat hours after fleeing the burning tower, said: “It’s difficult, but there is hope.”

Mr Alves, 20, started his third year studying physics at Kings College London this week. He said he was finally feeling optimistic about the year ahead after the horror his family had witnessed.

He said: “The worst thing was being at my friend’s house and just looking at all these people screaming for help. They had torches on their phones lit, waving white sheets and just saying, ‘Help us, we’re here’.

“It’s difficult sometimes, looking at the tower and just seeing a place where I’ve been so happy making me so sad.” He lived on the 13th floor with his family and sister Ines, whose exam success he hopes will inspire others to achieve their goals in the face of adversity.

He said: “Some people from the tower came up to me and said, ‘Your sister did us proud’. The reason for that, I believe, is that my sister’s story is a story of hope in the midst of all of this... without hope there is no going forward, no future.”