NOT EVEN a tornado could blow a dedicated pupil away from achieving fantastic GCSE results.
Taylor Williams was forced to move out of her Carrbrook home when freak winds damaged it on December 27.
After almost nine months at a temporary home in Greenfield, the family moved back in just before she gained her grades.
And it was all smiles after she learned hard work and dedication has seen her gain six sixes, one five and a four, plus a distinction in her BTEC dance course.
“I’m very happy,” said Taylor, who will now study dance at a specialist college in Manchester. “I passed everything and got more – I was expecting below what I got.
“Lots of hard work went into getting my grades. I was revising every day. We’re talking late nights and early mornings.
“When the tornado hit, I was just looking out of my window as it was raining really hard. Then, all of a sudden, there was this tiny bit of white and everything was crashing around.
“It wasn’t scary, it was just all a bit surreal. We didn’t think it was a tornado at first.
“And after moving to Greenfield, it was hard at first just to get used to everything, with the commute to school but in the end, it just worked out.”
Taylor received her grades with proud parents Toni and Richard, who could not have been more pleased.
Toni said: “We’re very, very proud of her.”
And Richard added: “Her work ethic has been the most impressive thing. Just how dedicated she was to everything with her revision.”