SHE may be only 15, but Nicole Boardman has already passed a GCSE with flying colours.

The pupil, from St Francis Xavier School, Richmond, sat French two years early in the summer and managed an A* grade.

As her mother, Ivy, is from Mauritius, perhaps her flair for the language should not come as too much of a surprise.

However, Nicole's progress looked like coming to a sudden halt when the family found out her school could do nothing to help with an A-level course; St Francis Xavier does not have a sixth form.

"To continue with her French, we have to pay for a place at college in Darlington,'' said Mrs Boardman.

"The school was very good but there was nothing else they could do to help. I'll be writing to Education Secretary Estelle Morris to let her know what has happened.''

A spokesman for North Yorkshire County Council's education department said: "It may well be we could have helped with a partnership between St Francis Xavier and another school with a sixth form. However, these things can take time to arrange and we would urge parents to let us know as soon as they can if they think they may come across a problem like this.''