NICOLA Naroz may have big health problems - but she has shone in the face of adversity.

The teenager from Shotley Bridge travelled back from a hospital appointment in Sheffield to learn she had got two As and a B grade in her AS Level results.

Nicola, who has undergone seven major operations on her leg, had hoped all the pins and screws would have been removed in time for the result.

Although they weren't, she remained bouyant.

She said: "The fact that I actually managed to sit the exams was a huge achievement for me and I couldn't have attended school at all during last year if it hadn't have been for my mother transporting me to all my lessons.

"Getting the grades I did really gives me the encouragement for my studies next year and I'm looking forward to it very much."

Nicola, a student at Church High School in Newcastle, was born at just 27 weeks gestation, weighing 1lb 14oz.

As a result of an immature immune system, developed a severe infection which destroyed part of her tibia in her right leg.

Every few years, as the rest of her bones grow, she has to have an operation to break the tibia, insert the pins and screws to keep them apart to encourage growth.

With just three weeks to the start of the new term, Nicola will be adapting to use her crutches in the hope that very soon all the pins will be removed and she can continue with her studies.