Good luck to everyone collecting exam results today.
Special congratulations to Honey Ibbitson who is among those celebrating after she collected her results at John Henry Newman Catholic College in Birmingham this morning, despite undergoing brain surgery just eight days ago.
Honey, who opened her results live on BBC Midlands Today this morning, passed with flying colours, despite facing additional challenges and missing nine weeks of her GCSE school year due to ongoing treatment for a rare type of brain tumour.
Honey was just 10 when she was diagnosed with a cerebellopontine angle epidermoid cyst in 2019. Her diagnosis came after four years of leg pain were repeatedly dismissed as growing pains.
Her mum Julie said: “It got to the point where Honey was limping because to walk was too painful at times. My mother’s instinct was telling me there was more to it. I pushed for a referral to the hospital, but never expected to be told that Honey had something growing in her brain.”
After five years of stable scans, in November 2023, Honey was told her tumour had grown and she underwent surgery. She missed nine weeks of school whilst she recovered, returning in January 2024 to sit her mock exams.
Despite the challenges she faced, Honey worked hard on her studies in and out of school time to get back to the same level as her peers. For part of her English GCSE coursework, she wrote and presented about a topic of her choice: brain tumours.
Last week, on Wednesday 13th August, Honey had a second operation, a continuation of her first surgery which had to be halted due to a bleed on her brain. After picking up her results today, she now plans to begin her T Level in early years in education at University College Birmingham – a course she chose after becoming passionate about the subject during her time in the children’s hospital.
Julie added: “Watching how Honey has handled her diagnosis, overcome the physical side effects, and navigated growing up with the disease alongside her school life has made me incredibly proud.”
Congratulations Honey!
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