WITH months of hard work and revision, study timetables and pressure to get the good grades, GCSE exam periods can be notoriously stressful on young pupils.

Someone who understands this better than most this year is 16-year-old Marling student Dom Richardson from Chalford.

He had to take five months off school while he was suffering from glandular fever – which rendered him practically housebound for weeks at a time.

This meant he missed out on months of lessons, exam practice and expert teaching.

Despite the setbacks he managed to pull it back and get three A*s, two As, four Bs and two Cs.

“I was ill for a long time, so I really exceeded my own expectations of how well I’d do,” said the musician and band member who picked up his grades the school on Thursday morning.

“I had to do a lot of the work at home and missed a lot of lessons. I managed to do some half days in school occasionally and we got a tutor to come to the house to help me.

“But it still really affected my revision. There were some days when I was too ill to do anything.

“I felt completely drained and had no energy. I’d be fine one minute then feel incredibly tired the next minute.

“My concentration levels really suffered sometimes too and I think the stress and revision probably made it worse. It was challenging at times, but I tried not to let it affect me too much.

“Unfortunately the actual exam period was when I was at one of my worst points in the illness.

“They were really tough so I really didn’t think I’d do too well. But in the end I managed to get pretty decent grades.

“Most surprising was that I got A*s in geography, English language, English literature. I definitely wasn’t expecting to do so well in those subjects.

“I was never planning to take either of the English courses at A-level, but my teacher has been trying to get me to take at least one. It’s a tough choice so we’ll have to wait and see.”

Like almost all of his school friends, he will be staying on at Marling to complete his A-levels.

Having made a full recovery, and a possible route of a degree in music tech ahead of him, Dom is looking forward to re-joining the school in September.

But not before relaxing for what remains of his well-earned holiday.