A teenager who fled war-torn Ukraine with his parents last year has been described as “an inspiration to us all” after passing several GCSEs.

Artur Zavhorodnii spoke very little English when he arrived in Darlington and started studying at Hummersknott Academy.

But his performance in passing several GCSEs, including a Grade 6 in Maths, was described as “remarkable” by headteacher Nick Merifield.

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Artur, who is a refugee from the Ukrainian city of Odesa, said: “It’s been hard but I’ve had a lot of support from the school and made lots of friends.”

He now plans to go to Queen Elizabeth Sixth Form College, with ambitions to become a data scientist and hopes to return to Ukraine one day.

Mr Merifield said: “Artur has been an inspiration to us all. To come here from a war zone and to have his life totally disrupted, and to have done as well as he has, is quite remarkable. We’re very proud of him.”

The Darlington school’s attainment levels are above the national average despite a challenging national picture, with the grading boundaries returning to pre-Covid levels.

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Executive principal James Keating said: “It’s a picture of strong attainment by the students despite the trials and tribulations they’ve gone through over the past few years.

“We are in line, and in some cases, above pre-Covid levels, so that’s very pleasing. The students, backed by their teachers, have worked really worked hard and we’re proud of everyone’s efforts. It’s been a question of weathering the storm and coming out the other side in good shape.”

Mr Merifield added: “Against the national backdrop of a fall in the higher grades, we’ve seen some amazing individual performances here at Hummersknott, and that’s a credit to the students and staff.”