Good luck to everyone collecting exam results today. 

Special congratulations are in order for brain tumour patient Jacob Coldman, 16, who is celebrating after collecting his GCSE results from Chumleigh College in Devon. 

Jacob was in Year 7 when he was diagnosed with an optic pathway glioma after a routine eye test in November 2018, aged 12. He had two operations followed by 18 months of gruelling chemotherapy, which significantly disrupted his education and left him with life-changing injuries. He is registered visually impaired and takes longer to process information. 

Despite long stints in hospital, Jacob continued his schooling at Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital when he was well enough, sometimes having lessons by his bedside. 

Jacob’s schooling was further disrupted when a routine scan last year showed his tumour had grown. In January 2023 he returned from having proton beam therapy at University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (UCLH), having missed two months of school, including his mock GCSE exams. Despite this, Jacob sat his exams at the same time as his peers. 

It’s all smiles today as Jacob celebrates his amazing results having achieved three grade 7s, four 6s and two 5s. He is now looking forward to starting college in September, where he will be studying computer science. 

Jacob’s mum Elaine said: “We are proud of Jacob for how he has dealt with every obstacle he has faced. We have already seen the tumour can grow but we have a little more hope that one day we will find a cure for this devastating disease.” 

Well done Jacob! 

Related reading: 

• Jacob’s story

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