Guernsey school secretary celebrates passing GCSE maths after '20-year wait'

• Mim Batiste shares her reaction after finding out she had passed GCSE maths

A Guernsey school secretary has been celebrating her own exam success after passing GCSE maths.

Mim Batiste says she is "absolutely thrilled" and never thought it would be possible after initially failing the subject two decades ago.

She explained: "I have been waiting 20 years. It was 2003 when I took my GCSEs for the first time and I did OK in all of them apart from maths.

"I didn't feel like I could ever sit it again, it wasn't my strong suit at school and I've spent my entire life saying I can't do maths."

Mim works at Notre Dame du Rosaire Primary School and decided to give maths another go, enrolling in classes at the College of Further Education in The Guernsey Institute.

Principal Louise Misselke said: "It is something that takes a lot of courage to walk over the step so we're here to help and support if there's anybody out there that thinks, 'I could do that'."

Mim's perseverance paid off as she achieved a grade 5 in her maths GCSE, the highest mark available in her foundation course.

Mim added: "I didn't sit it with any plan in mind, I sat it because I felt like it was something I wanted to do for myself after 20 years so I don't have any plans but now nothing is going to hold me back - if I want to do Open University then I'm able to."

Want to find out more about the stories making the headlines? Don't miss Channelcast - the Channel Islands current affairs podcast brought to you by ITV News: