Twins, who won bronze in the gymnastics at the Tokyo Olympics, celebrated another success after receiving their GCSE results on Thursday.

Jessica and Jennifer Gadirova, 16, received passes across the board – with Jessica awarded a BTEC level two distinction star in business, while both sisters were awarded distinction stars in the NCFE Health and Fitness award.

The pair were part of Team GB’s bronze medal winning gymnastic team who won Great Britain’s first Olympic gymnastics team medal since 1928, alongside Alice Kinsella, 20, and Amelie Morgan, 18.

Both Jessica and Jennifer plan to remain at Aylesbury Vale Academy, where they will study sport and management at sixth form alongside preparing for the next Olympic Games in Paris and the World Championships.

Jessica collected her results on Thursday wearing her Team GB T-shirt and bronze medal.

She said: “We are very happy and pleased – we both got the pass and are very thrilled.

“It was very difficult and it would not have been possible without the support from our teachers and coaches – if there were days that we had to miss school because of training, they would give us the resources and help to catch up.”

Jennifer hopes to compete at the European Championships for the first time after he sister won three medals at the tournament in April.

She wore a matching outfit on results day and said: “We did all the finals and all the competitions with each other which was such an amazing experience because not everyone has their sibling or someone that they are close to with them all the time.

“She is my best friend, we are always with each other, so it just felt so nice – sometimes it’s hard explaining the experience but when they are there with you it’s lovely.”

They did say that they have some competitiveness between them but do sometimes feel as if they are being compared to one another.

Jennifer said: “Sometimes it does help and sometimes it doesn’t – there is a time and a place when to compare and when not to compare us.”

“We always want to be better than each other but in training and in competition we like to encourage ourselves and motivate and support each other, because when you are having a down day, picking each other up just helps us shoot forwards,” Jessica added.

For the second year in a row, exams were cancelled for GCSEs due to COVID-19 and students were given results by their teachers and assessed only on what they have been taught during the pandemic.

Results hit record highs again this year, with the proportion of UK pupils getting the top grades – that’s a 7 or higher, equivalent to at least an A – is 28.9%, an increase of 2.7% on last year.

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