Teacher has perfect answer to schoolboy's GCSE reaction

It was a proud day at Cardinal Heenan High School, in West Derby, today as many students celebrated the GCSE results they had hoped for. Lewie Gibson, 16, was one of the pleased students who spoke to the ECHO about their results and future plans.

Before speaking to the ECHO about the pride in his results, Lewie rushed over to his biology teacher Nick Ashton (pictured above, R) to celebrate his grade 9 in what is his favourite subject. Lewie ran over to Mr Ashton and shouted "We did it!" as he showed his teacher his results letter, to which Mr Ashton replied "you did it!".

Lewie told the ECHO: "[Mr Ashton] has helped me so much. He's one of the most significant people in my life". Lewie is planning on studying biology, chemistry, and economics at Carmel College. Mr Ashton told Lewie as they posed for a photo: "I'm sad you're going to Carmel but I'm so happy for you."

Lewie said: "I've always loved biology. I'm also buzzing to get a nine in chemistry because I found that really tough. It's much higher than I expected". He hopes to study biology further at university and is keen to venture outside of Liverpool to do so.

Another student, Rakan Ahmed, 16, achieved grade 7s in most of his subjects. Rakan told the ECHO he is "very much happy" with his results as he mostly got what he expected. He said: "I moved to Liverpool in 2019 from Sweden and knew no English. The school has taught me everything and now I have the grades to do what I want". Rakan wants to study engineering but is unsure where yet, albeit with Liverpool College in mind. He added: "I'm just quite interested in buildings and construction so I'm looking to do something to so with that."

On top of GCSE results he is proud of, Dominic Burke, 16, can claim the award for best dressed on results day. Dressed in a floral shirt, a suede jacket, reflective blue shades, and a fedora, Dominic told the ECHO about his acting aspirations.

He said: "I'm going to study acting at Liverpool College. I've wanted to be an actor since I was really young". When asked about what inspired him to get into acting, Dominic said: "I remember being seven-years-old and my parents taking me to the pantomime and I loved it. That's some of my best memories."

Dominic's aim is to become an actor 'or maybe a director'. He would like to stay in Liverpool but says: 'down the line I might move to London because that's where a lot of the industry is'.

James Smith, 16, couldn't stop smiling as he told the ECHO about his impressive grade in maths which he waa completely shocked by. He said: "I'm absolutely buzzing to get a 7 in maths. I thought I'd maybe get a 6 but I'm just so happy with a 7."

James explained: "I think the biggest challenge is the nerves during the exams but I just stayed composed". He wants to continue at Cardinal Heenan for A Levels studying biology, chemistry and maths at the school's sixth form.

Caleb Rigley, 16, is very happy with his results as they allow him to study at LMA (Liverpool Media Academy) to explore a career in music. Caleb told the ECHO he enjoyed studying his GCSEs at Cardinal Heenan but is now ready to venture further into his passion of music.

He said: "I play guitar, I sing a little. I'm inspired by David Gilmour so hopefully I can be in a band or something. I'd just like to make a career out of music."

Headteacher Karen Smyth said: "I am so proud of all the boys and their achievements. This is a really special community and I'm really proud to work here and to see everything that they've done and to see them on their journey to the next steps."