ONLY a few years ago one Furness student could speak little English, but he has shown that language is no barrier after gaining top marks in his A Levels.

Bart Parka moved from Poland and joined Ulverston Victoria High School at the age of 11, and although only having a small English vocabulary, he said he soon fitted in.

Today (Thursday) he opened that dreaded envelope to reveal that hard work had paid off, as he gained A*s in Maths, Physics and Chemistry, allowing him a place at his chosen university of Durham.

He said: “I only needed one A* to get my university place, so I hoped I would get that, but I was not expecting three.

“I knew before I got to school this morning that I had the place, as I had been refreshing the internet page for hours, but I did not know how well I had done.”

Deputy headteacher Wendy Allen said she remembers doing Bart’s admission entry when he first came to UIverston.

“He did not speak very much English at all but still settled in really well and there were quite a few Polish families arriving at the same time so we set things up to enable them to do as well everyone else.

“He has done really well but is also a really nice boy.”

And the young man praised the school’s help.

“I did pick up the language pretty quickly. It was quite scary coming here because it was all different, but the school made it easy to fit in - I was welcomed and given extra English lessons,” he said.

Congratulating Bart on his achievements headteacher Denis Fay added: “Bart is one of nature’s gentlemen and a delightful young man. His results reflect his dedication to his studies and his determination to succeed. ”