NOT every student likes to collect their exam results with their parents in tow, but Lizzi Kernott and her mum Sarah share a special bond.

Turning up at Chase High School in Westcliff laughing and smiling, few would have guessed that just under a year ago Lizzi was recovering from a kidney transplant, with the organ coming from her own mother.

But the hard-working 18-year-old made the most of her time off from school by studying, with stellar results.

Lizzi, of Eastwood Lane, Westcliff, got a triple distinction star in her health and social care BTEC, equivalent to three A* grades at A-level.

She said: “I am really pleased with it. When I first started here I was on dialysis three times a week.

“Then in November I had the transplant so I was off for three months.

“After that I still had quite a few complications because I’d had ten operations in three months.”

The school was able to send work for Lizzi to complete while she was laid up in Great Ormond Street Hospital.

She said: “For a long time I was at home and it was just literally me doing it by myself.

“It was all good though. I stayed in touch with my friends so it wasn’t too bad.”

The two-year qualification involved passing 18 units, all of which comprised coursework and work experience, not easy when you are confined to a hospital bed.

Lizzi said: “The course involves health work, social work, child care, all that sort of stuff.

“I have always liked working with children and I have done quite a bit of work experience in child care and working with the disabled.”

She now plans to study early years and development at the Essex University, which has a base in Southend.

Mum Sarah, 49, said Lizzi had suffered from rare problems with her kidney from birth and has endured more than 50 operations.

Her family, including brother Charlie, 23, sister Vikki,21, and dad Trev, 51, had always known Lizzi would need a transplant at some point.

She said: “As long as I was compatible I was always going to do it.

“It was horrible for her but she has been fantastic. She’s never moaned about it and has just got on with it.

“She will be on medication for the rest of her life but the transplant has changed her life.

“Since then she’s passed her driving test and has got a part-time job.

“It doesn’t really have any effect on me, I can just carry on with life as normal.”

Wendy Krusch, head of sixth form, said Lizzie’s achievement was “just brilliant”.

She said: “She is 150 per cent focused. When she first came to us she didn’t even know if she would have all her GCSEs because she was doing her revision in hospital.

“She’s really driven. She’s just the most amazing young person.

“She hasn’t let this stop her doing anything, in fact I think it’s made her more determined to succeed.”