It was double delight for identical twins Zoe and Amber Botting who shared 17 A*/A GCSE grades between them after opening their exam envelopes this morning.

The sisters, who attend Thurston Community College, collected their results with their parents and 19-year-old sister Jessica – and will celebrate with a meal tonight.

Amber secured five A*s, four As and one B grade, marginally pipping sibling Zoe – who achieved five A*s, three As and two Bs.

Amber said: “I’m shocked because you never know how it is going to go. It was exhilarating to open them and the hardest part was definitely the wait for them to come out.

“My mum was close to tears, I just feel so happy.”

Mum Nikki Botting said: “I am immensely proud. They both worked really hard and it’s great to see that all the hard work paid off.

“Thurston Community College is an excellent school and they were really supportive of the girls’ needs.

“It’s hard growing up as a twin but they are both really supportive of each other.”