'I couldn't sleep at first, I was so nervous'

Pupils describe the tense hours as they wait for the results .

From left, the principal Paul Coackley discusses the results of Josh Swindling's and Alex Wallace's A level test.

ABU DHABI // When Alex Wallace picked up his exam results yesterday, he discovered he had secured himself a place at university. But no sooner was the results slip folded in his hand than he started to think about his post-graduate studies. Mr Wallace, 19, got an A in English and Bs in economics and geography. Although he was pleased with the grades he earned at the British School Al Khubairat, they were not enough to get him into his first choice of Glasgow University. Instead, in September, he will head to University of Edinburgh to study economics.

"I'm not too bothered because there is not that much difference between the courses," he reasoned. "Anyway I will probably go to Glasgow for my post-grad." There is such competition, not just between universities but also in the job market, that Mr Wallace is prepared to do as much studying as possible. "Nowadays you need to do more and more to stay ahead," he said. His friend and classmate Josh Swindling, 18, got into University College London with three B grades in physics, chemistry and biology.

He said he would be discussing the results with his friends this summer and finding out where he lost marks. "I was talking to some people this morning and they got As and A*s," he said. "It's amazing how well some people did." One who did very well was Jo Nolan, 18, who got an A* in English literature and two As, in history and media. Miss Nolan said her friends stayed up late refreshing the Universities and Colleges Admission Service website.

"I couldn't sleep at first because I was so nervous and my friends said they could find out from the website whether they had got into university after midnight," she said. "But in the end I decided to sleep and wait until the morning. Now that I have them I'm pleased but it feels like an anti-climax. After all that work and anticipation, I don't know what to do now." Miss Nolan travels to Birmingham University in September to begin a law degree.

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