A brainy student feared she would lose her place at a top university after the exam board bungled her A level results - and gave her a token C grade.

Lidia Goonatilaka (doub corr), 18, had secured a conditional spot to read English Literature at King's College London.

She needed to achieve three A grades to secure her place and, as a top student, she was confident she'd reach the requirement.

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But Lidia was devastated to open her results and see she had a C in English Literature - despite being predicted an A* all year.

Lidia sought advice from teachers at Heston Community School, Heston, who she said confirmed AQA had made a mistake.

They explained the exam board had either lost one of her papers, or it simply hadn't been marked - so she was given a C.

Gutted Lidia had been given until August 31 to sort out the mess or risk losing her place - despite it not being her fault.

Thankfully, AQA realised the mistake today (19/08) and awarded the teen a deserved A - meaning she is now set to go to Kings College next month.

Lidia, from Bracknell, Berkshire, said: "I opened my results in the car with my mum and I just burst out crying.
"The C in English just didn't make sense, as my course work was A* and all my work throughout the year had been A* standard.

"So we asked my teachers, and they told me that AQA have ether lost my exam or not even marked it.

"I called Kings College and explained. [I was] given until August 31 to get the situation sorted."

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Lidia also received an A* in Graphic Design and and an A in Psychology, so meets her requirements now the English Literature grade has been sorted out.
But she added: "I want justice and the reform of the exam system because at the moment the exam board is putting our futures in jeopardy, and it is not fair."

Kings College London was approached prior to AQA reversing its decision on Lidia's grade.

The university said: "We give careful consideration to confirming places for students, for which UCAS has set a deadline of the 31 August.

"We appreciate what a stressful time this is for Lidia, and we hope AQA are able to resolve the issue of her missing results as quickly as possible."

AQA said: "We're sorry we didn't get this right first time, but we're happy to say it's now resolved and we've updated the student with their new result."