GCSE results 2013: What happens to the GCSE golden girls after the photo op?

We've all seen the photos of girls jumping for joy on GCSE results day, but what's the story behind the pictures? Isabelle Kerr catches up with some girls (and boys) who made the papers with impressive exam results and are now at university.

Rainbow Lo, 20, is heading into her third year studying natural sciences at University College London. A straight A's A-level student, Rainbow would admit herself she was "very academic" at school – something which she's kept up at university. But she's also learned to embrace the finer things in life and has got into Lacrosse – a sport she never practised before uni.

She looks back to her school days at Ursuline High School in Wimbledon fondly, and can remember how she felt on the all-important results day. “There is unlikely to be any greater rollercoaster of emotions than results day," she says.

Naturally when a photographer popped up to snap the moment, Rainbow volunteered, although she recalls it being “a bit awkward”. She has a point: amid all the screams of excitement, sheer relief and, for some, tears of disappointment, having your photograph taken amid the rollercoaster of emotions isn't the most natural of scenarios.

Seeing as most young people strive maintain their street cred and avoid looking 'too keen' like the plague, a photograph of academic success may not be the ideal situation.

Indeed, Precious McCarthy, 20, is embarrassed to admit she was one of those girls frozen in time by the photographer – and wasn't entirely fond of the experience. “I wouldn’t say the photos inspire me at all, if anything they make me cringe," she laughs.

She's now at Exeter University, studying History with Law and hopes to go into advertising one day. Like Rainbow, she's also about to start her third year at university and knows the jobs market is not far off. If anything, her 'star' photo may help to impress employers when she starts looking for a job next year – although at the moment, she still sees the photo op experience as largely an embarrassment.

'Big deal'

^{Results day: Many girls will be celebrating their exam results Photo: PA}

The one thing both Rainbow and Precious have in common is that their GCSE results day photographs pinpoint the first step on their road to success. They have both gone on to study at Russell Group universities and consequently, they can’t help but look back with a smile.

Elsewhere, Isil Mirzanli, 20, also from the Ursuline High School, describes her photographic moment in the spotlight as “a sense of accomplishment”. So does Guenna Forbes, 20, now a medicine student, who remembers the day well, and explains “there’s something about having your photo taken and being made a big deal of that definitely appeals to me”.

And why not? Many of these girls may strike a pose, but ultimately the photos confirm that the hard work was worth it. They celebrate commitment and send out an encouraging message to younger students to follow suit.

But it's not just the girls who've had their moment jumping for joy on results day. Many boys are equally positive about their experience of being papped the moment they opened their brown envelopes. Fellow sixth form pupil Liam Peck, 20, didn’t find having his photo taken embarrassing at all, instead he believes the experience helped "to remind you of all the good memories”, a chance for both the school and students to celebrate success. He's now studying medicine at the University of Oxford – and is destined for great things.

However, there is a downside to all this fame. The girls I spoke to admitted the experience was "embarrassing" mainly because they hadn't prepared for the shot.

Isil, who's studying biology at Manchester university, jokes: "I wasn’t sure if I looked good or not.” Given the success she's gone on to achieve, I'm not sure that it matters – she is one of 50 people who beat 5,000 others to secure an industry placement during her course.

So while others may yawn about the next batch of jumping girl photos that will inevitably dominate media coverage today, just think of the endless hours of dedicated highlighting and rigorous note-taking that helped these girls to succeed. And think of what they'll go onto achieve. While the photos are a nice momentum for many school leavers, the story behind the photo is far more engaging.

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