A teenager at a school in Rainham had a very happy 16th birthday after her GCSE results saw her able to take up a fully-funded place at a private school.
Brittons Academy pupil Natalie Wocior will study at Rugby School in Warwickshire, that is hailed as one of the oldest independent schools in Britain.
She achieved grade 8s in biology, history and maths, 7s in chemistry, English language, English literature and physics, and a distinction star in music in her GCSEs.
Natalie got her results on her birthday (August 24) and said her best gift were the grades that secured her place at Rugby.
She earned a bursary from the Arnold Foundation to fund her education at Rugby.
Rugby receives hundreds of applications but a school spokesperson said that Natalie was “not easily deterred” and decided to give it a shot.
Read More: GCSE results 2023: East London pupils learn results
Sam Abiola, the vice chair of the academy's governing body, and his sister gave Natalie interview tips and helped prepare her for private school entry examinations.
The spokesperson said: “Alongside this, a range of staff helped support Natalie with the additional revision she was completing in preparation for the entrance exams.”
In November 2022, Natalie appeared for her exams in biology, chemistry, maths, verbal reasoning and non-verbal reasoning.
Following this, she completed two interviews – one with a teacher from Rugby overseeing post-16 applications and one with the house mistress of the house she had applied to live in.
In December 2022, Natalie was told she had passed the exams and, contingent on her GCSE results, Rugby School offered her a place.
In January 2023, Natalie then completed two panel interviews, conducted by the senior leadership team of the school and the development board, to bid for the Arnold Foundation bursary to subsidise her study.
Rugby offered her a place to board with them from September 2023.
The Brittons spokesperson said: “We are immensely proud of Natalie and believe her aspiration, determination and resilience should be an inspiration to others to always make the most of every opportunity presented to them.”
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here