A KENDAL rugby star has scored the ultimate try, with exam results as impressive as his sporting prowess.

Chris Downham had to balance GCSE revision with England rugby training but, when the results came in, he proved just as much of a champion in the classroom as the sports field.

The Queen Katherine School student achieved five A*s, four As, a B and a C and hopes to tackle more academic and sporting challenges in the future.

“I was hoping I would do quite well but I didn’t expect this,” said Chris, who is moving to Sedbergh School to do A levels in chemistry, geography, maths and geology.

“It would be nice to play rugby professionally but I am just going to see how things go. You can’t pin your hopes on it and it is important to have qualifications to fall back on.”

Click here to view and buy pictures from our GCSE results photo gallery.