A HAMPSHIRE student gained nine GCSEs despite undergoing a life saving operation and being too unwell to revise until three weeks before the exams.

Adam Weatherill, 16, who suffers from muscular dystrophy, got two A*s, five As and two Bs against all the odds.

The pupil from King's School in Winchester was so unwell he had to sit his exams at home in his bedroom having already missed many months of school.

Last Easter he was admitted to hospital when there were complications with an earlier operation to fuse his spine and he suffered a massive infection.

Adam, from Winchester, is now getting better and has received a boost from the results.

"I feel great and I hoped I would do well," he said.

His father Phil said he was very proud of his son. "They are amazing results after missing a term and a half," he said.

Mr Weatherill explained staff came into Adam's bedroom to watch him write down his answers.

"They turned his bedroom into a GCSE exam room. There were even notices up on the wall saying no mobile phones."

Adam is now going to Peter Symonds' College in Winchester to study A-levels in history, classics, sociology and computers.

His teacher Bobby Poll added: "The love and support of his parents and Adam's hard work has seen him do so well. He's a star."