COLLECTING a dozen top grade GCSEs would be cause enough for celebration for most teenagers.

But for Rachel Blackford, of Peatmoor, it marked the end of a tough few years battling cancer.

The bright 16-year-old picked up her results from Bradon Forest School on Thursday, gaining an outstanding 12 A*s, on top of the A grade AS level in maths she received last week.

And this stunning achievement has come at the end of a three-year fight against the Hodgkin lymphoma form of cancer, which attacks the lymph nodes in the neck, armpit or groin.

"I couldn't really believe it when I first looked at my results," said Rachel.

"I was trying to see a mistake somewhere."

Proud mum Linda said: "Rachel just got into the car, didn't say a word and handed me the sheet of paper.

"It was determination not to let it beat her. Although we said she could go back a year, she was determined not to."

Rachel's diagnosis came in January 2005 during Year 9, two months after an operation to remove a lump the size of an egg from her neck.

Her ambition to forge a career as a lawyer kept her focused on keeping up at home with schoolwork through Year 9 and her chemo-therapy treatment in Oxford.

Starting Year 10, when the build-up to GCSEs begins in earnest, Rachel came to the end of her chemotherapy and returned to school.

"For the first few months of that year I was at school quite a lot and not feeling too bad," she said.

"Then in January of Year 10, 2006, I started feeling ill again because of my low immunity caused by the chemo, so from then until the end of that year I wasn't able to go to school. It was just the after effects really."

Linda said: "Illnesses which would keep other children off for two or three days would keep Rachel out of school for two or three weeks.

"It was difficult for her to keep up with school work during the chemo as Rachel would just about be feeling well enough to do work, then we'd be going back for the next lot."

But throughout her illnesses Rachel, who is now in remission, kept up with her classmates, using textbooks to learn her 12 GCSE syllabuses with tasks being set by some of her teachers.

"We didn't have to keep her going, Rachel was so motivated," said Linda.

"Her teachers all know she was capable of the As, but it hinged on her health and her staying well."

Her results may look as though Rachel made easy work of teaching herself multiple subjects but she admits to struggling at times with languages and English, because much of what you need to know to pass the exams is not necessarily listed in books and comes through direct tuition in class.

Looking back, Rachel and her mum can see elements of the cancer affecting her health throughout her secondary education, as she missed a large chunk of Year 7 due to an undiagnosed tiredness.

Now Rachel is looking forward to starting at Cirencester College, and has registered for A levels in history, economics and politics.

She says she does not know how she will cope with the stresses and strains of a five-day week once more.

But she will have plenty of support from home, although older sister Sarah, 19, who is at Oxford University, may not be too keen for her to do well as Rachel is already on course to beat her own impressive achievements.

With a slightly cheeky glint in her eye, the younger sibling said: "I'd like to go to Oxford too.

"Sarah got 11A*s, so it was a hard act to follow - but she didn't do an AS too."