Two pairs of twins celebrated outstanding GCSE results today, with one set getting 23 A*s and As between them at the La Sainte Union Catholic School in Dartmouth Park.

Ham & High: Samira and Blane Asfaw also did well, achieving all A*s, As and BsSamira and Blane Asfaw also did well, achieving all A*s, As and Bs (Image: Archant)

16-year-olds Zuzanna and Natalia Bus, could not be more different. Scientist Zuzanna “was freaking out” while revising, whereas literature-loving Natalia remained calm throughout her GCSEs.

But they both opened impressive results today at their Highgate Road school.

Natalia achieved 10 A*s and one A while Zuzanna got nine A*s, three As and one B.

Natalia said: “I kept telling her that it would not be the end of the world if she got Bs, because that is like failure to her. She was freaking out.

“I know that if you get stressed, it’s not going to help anything.”

Zuzanna admitted: “It was very stressful.

“I did have a moment when I felt like giving up and I laid down on the floor.”

The pair will go on to take A-levels at the Catholic Cardinal Vaughan Memorial School in Shepherd’s Bush but they will be studying very different subjects.

Zuzanna is pursuing a career in medicine and will be studying biology, chemistry, maths and physical education, while Natalia prefers the humanities, taking English literature, history, classics and philosophy.

It has been a record-breaking year for La Sainte Union with 77 per cent of pupils achieving five A*-C grades including maths and English, their best ever GCSE results. The figure is up from 70 per cent last year.

Headteacher Maureen Williams said: “I’m so proud of the students, particularly because the national picture doesn’t seem to be quite so positive.”

Another set of twins celebrated fantastic results today at Camden School for Girls in Sandall Road, Kentish Town, getting all A*s, As and Bs.

16-year-olds Semira and Blane Asfaw of Rochester Square, Camden, helped each other to revise, though Semira said her sister did not work very hard.

She added: “[Blane] didn’t actually revise! I took loads of notes and read the textbooks but she just turned up for the exams.”

But Blane defended herself and said: “It was very stressful but it was helpful to revise together for the subjects we both studied.”

The sisters will stay at the school to take history of art, English literature and maths, with Blane doing history and Semira studying French.

Camden School for Girls joined La Sainte Union in achieving its best ever set of results with 80 per cent of students getting five A*-C grades, including maths and English.

It was the best performing Camden state school, just beating last year’s top school La Sainte Union to the top spot.

Headteacher Elizabeth Kitcatt said: “We are absolutely delighted with this fabulous set of results. This year we had a very hard-working and focused cohort.”