Bolton School’s water polo twins are looking to the future following a GCSE results day.

Harriet and Josh Dickens proved to be as effective in the exam hall as they are in the pool.

Harriet achieved four 8s, four 7s and two 6s, while Josh came away with four 8s, three 7s, two 6s and one 5.

Harriet, who captained England under -17 water polo team at the EU Nations Junior Women’s Water Polo Tournament and was the tournament’s top player, says that having someone that was going through the same thing helped in the more stressful moments.

She said: “Funnily enough, Josh has actually been quite calm, and I’ve been quite stressed but through prep and we both did revision sessions together and helped each other with things we didn’t understand.”

Josh, who also plays water polo along with his sister, and coaches the girls’ division’s under-13 team, said: “We both did pretty similar choices, so it was quite easy to help each other.”

He added: “It’s been a long journey. School helped us a lot through Covid. We had iPads already, so it was easy to transition into that period.”

Harriet has a busy summer following her exams, flying out to Slovakia and Israel to represent Great Britain in her sport.

She said: “I prepared throughout the year. Every day I have training. Every weekend I have training. It’s quite hard to fit revision in at the same time but I managed.

“I started at school – the boys ran a club and I just joined in, and I’ve just gone from there.

“School really supported me especially through my water polo mixed in with exams. They really helped me merge the two together and stay focussed but also at the same time supporting my water polo, so it meant quite a lot to see my teachers today and congratulate me.”

Both will go on to do their A-levels, with Josh considering a career in architecture, and Harriet hopeful of gaining a scholarship to go play water polo in America.