NICOLA NAROZ may have been born prematurely, but she has battled in the face of adversity.

The student at Church High School, in Newcastle, travelled back from a hospital appointment in Sheffield to learn she had got two A grades and a B grade in her AS-levels.

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

Although they were not, she remained buoyant.

She said: "The fact that I actually managed to sit the exams was a huge achievement for me.

"I could not have attended school at all during last year if it had not 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 am looking forward to it very much."

Nicola, of Shotley Bridge, County Durham, was born at only 27 weeks, weighing 1lb 14oz.

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

Every few years, as her bones grow further, she has to undergo an operation to break the tibia, and pins and screws are inserted to keep them apart to encourage growth.

Full result listings can be seen in today's Northern Echo