DESPITE missing a large chunk of his final year being treated in hospital for a serious illness, David England still managed to achieve straight A*s in his A-Levels.

David, of Lee Close, Charlbury, was admitted to hospital last October with a diaphragmatic hernia and had to take two months off school to recover.

His stomach had entered into his left lung cavity and he spent more than 20 days in hospital.

The 18-year-old was one of a record number of 16 students at Henry Box School in Witney to achieve straight A*-As.

He found out on Thursday that he had aced his maths, further maths and physics A-Levels.

He said: “I noticed in early October that something wasn’t right. It has been a lifelong problem, but I knew this was serious.

“I was in for about 22 days and I went back in to school part-time for a couple of weeks before Christmas.

“I missed quite a lot of the harder maths work, which I had to do mainly by myself, so I'm really happy with my results. I hope that next year I can get into Oxford University.”

He added: “I was quite lucky it hadn’t attached to anything up there, or it would have been more serious.”

David was diagnosed with his condition in childhood.

Deputy headteacher David Bell said: “We're really pleased with David’s achievements this year considering he missed at least two months of school but still managed to achieve fantastic results.

“We are going to delay applying for university until next year because of his illness. He should be able to access some of the best universities in the country.”