Mum of tragic Lucy tells of her exam results pride

Antonella Goulding, 40, received 16-year-old Lucy’s GCSE grades from Chatsmore Catholic High School headmaster Mike Madden on Thursday, and was told she was one of the top ten students in the school.

Lucy died in June, after being rushed to Southampton General Hospital, where she had an emergency operation on her brain.

Chatsmore’s school prom was due to take place the following day, but was cancelled. Tragic Lucy died without knowing her peers had voted for her to be crowned prom queen at the event.

In her exams, she received one A*, seven As – including maths and science, two of her less favoured subjects – one C, and a pass in ICT.

Antonella said: “She did extremely well.

“I’m very, very, proud but I’m gutted as well. She wanted to do so much, I just think ‘why’.

“It’s very hard. She would have been jumping for joy, she must have pushed herself so hard.

“My life has changed, nothing is normal.

“Some days are better than others but some days I struggle. I’m just taking it day by day really, as it comes. To achieve an A in maths and science, which weren’t really her subjects, she would have been jumping up and down.

“In the last month or so, when she was unwell, to achieve those results is unbelievable.”

Lucy’s grand-dad, Chis Goulding, of Rusper Road, Worthing, said: “Her results are better than her father and two uncles, both of whom went to university, one to Cambridge getting a double first in physics and a doctorate in theoretical chemistry. What could she have achieved?”