The sister of a Manchester bombing victim sat her GCSEs the day after learning her older brother had died – and got 11 A* grades.
Nikita Hett’s brother, Martyn, was one of the 22 victims of the suicide bombing at Manchester Arena during an Ariana Grande concert on May 22.
He was confirmed dead two days later, just as exams were being held across the country.
Despite the shock and grief of losing a sibling, Nikita was determined to sit the tests, according to a family member who described her resilience on Twitter, which he called “the toughest s**t I’ve ever seen.”
Dan Hett, Nikita and Martyn's brother, posted a series of tweets praising his sister, and ended by celebrating a run of 11 A* grades:
2/ we were obviously completely numb, fried, drained. we'd been through something absolutely unreal and were all trying to figure it out
— dan hett™ (@danhett) August 24, 2017
4/ I didn't even know what day it was at that point, it had been such a horrific few days.
— dan hett™ (@danhett) August 24, 2017
6/ They told her she didn't need to, that they'd use her predicted grades given everything that happened. Nik said: nope! and took the lot
— dan hett™ (@danhett) August 24, 2017
8/ It was hands-down the toughest shit I have ever seen. Sleeves rolled up, get it done. Nothing wasted despite it all
— dan hett™ (@danhett) August 24, 2017
10/ in conclusion: my kid sister is the toughest person I have ever met. don't mess with her. be inspired!
— dan hett™ (@danhett) August 24, 2017
The Manchester Evening News carried some quotes from Nikita Hett following her results. She said she took the exams "mainly to get out of the house and do something," but expected lower grades after her brother's death.
"Martyn always used to joke I was bad at maths. I think he would have been quite proud of me," she said.