Aspiring firefighter Wayd overcomes troublesome past and exits in a blaze of GCSE glory

Wayd Harris, 16, attained Bs in PE, science and English language and literature at Park Community School in Leigh Park.

He now looks ahead to building his future as a firefighter, but such a career initially seemed out of reach.

He said: ‘I started off in school like the “naughty boy”, and my first three years weren’t all that great.

‘After that, I found a career that I wanted to pursue, and in Year 10, I was becoming better and got my manners. As soon as I hit Year 11, I knuckled down and tried to blitz it as hard as I could.’

Sue Walker, deputy headteacher at the school, hopes that Wayd’s achievements will inspire future generations at the school.

She said: ‘He should be very proud of himself because he’s worked so hard. He was a model student, and if everyone was like that, teaching would be dead easy.’

Wayd, from Leigh Park, will study for his diploma in public services at South Downs College, and hopes to become a voluntary firefighter.

He said: ‘When I told my teachers that I wanted to be a firefighter, they told me it was a great idea.

‘They encouraged me and they didn’t give up on me, no matter how naughty I was at the beginning.

‘They never held any grudges and they stuck by me every day.’