Harry Thorne did not think he would pass his GCSEs until he looked at his results sheet.

Now the 16-year-old is preparing to join the Army.

He said: “The start of the year was challenging but towards the end it got easier until the GCSEs happened when it got a bit panicky.

“But when you get through them it was more like you achieved something, so I was pretty proud of myself that I managed to go into the exams, get over them and get the grades I needed to be in the army.

“I got threes, but honestly I am proud because I thought I was going to fail. My plan is to go to college because I have an assessment for the army in September and if I pass it in March, I’ll go off to Harrogate and taught to be a soldier.

Harry had a mentor, helping him and providing him support. He added: “They gave me revision stuff and I had private studies and at home I looked up on YouTube and I watched videos. Videos are helping a lot because they show diagrams and they explain it, so it was easier.”

Deputy Headteacher Charles Drew said: “He had a lot of support and help here but also he always had an exemplary attitude, worked really hard, and was a fantastic student. He hasn’t got quite the grades he wants today but he has got some of them I think he got a really good reward for what he has done in the last 11 years.”