Three sets of twins from same school achieve straight As

Three sets of twins from the same school have achieved straight As in their Highers.
Three sets of twins at St Ninian's High School, East Renfrewshire, Scotland, who received 5As at Highers (from left to right; Joseph and Michael Lowrie, both 17, Emma and Vivien McAinish, both 17 and Roisin and Niamh Kelly, 16). Picture: SWNSThree sets of twins at St Ninian's High School, East Renfrewshire, Scotland, who received 5As at Highers (from left to right; Joseph and Michael Lowrie, both 17, Emma and Vivien McAinish, both 17 and Roisin and Niamh Kelly, 16). Picture: SWNS
Three sets of twins at St Ninian's High School, East Renfrewshire, Scotland, who received 5As at Highers (from left to right; Joseph and Michael Lowrie, both 17, Emma and Vivien McAinish, both 17 and Roisin and Niamh Kelly, 16). Picture: SWNS
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Emma and Vivien McAinsh, 17, Joseph and Michael Lowrie, 17, and Niamh and Roisin Kelly, 16, all attend St Ninian’s in East Renfrewshire.

All together they notched up 30 top grades, with sibling rivalry having played a part in the success of some of them.

The three sets of twins notched up 30 top grades, with sibling rivalry having played a part in the success of some of them. Picture: Conor Riordan/PA WireThe three sets of twins notched up 30 top grades, with sibling rivalry having played a part in the success of some of them. Picture: Conor Riordan/PA Wire
The three sets of twins notched up 30 top grades, with sibling rivalry having played a part in the success of some of them. Picture: Conor Riordan/PA Wire
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Roisin Kelly said: “I would not have worked as hard if she (Niamh) hadn’t forced me to, so it actually came in handy.”

Niamh added: “I’d study, and she’d not.”

Emma McAnish said: “I think it motivated us both to work harder.”

All the pupils want to carry on with their education, with the McAinsh twins hoping for a future in dentistry.

The three sets of twins notched up 30 top grades, with sibling rivalry having played a part in the success of some of them. Picture: Conor Riordan/PA WireThe three sets of twins notched up 30 top grades, with sibling rivalry having played a part in the success of some of them. Picture: Conor Riordan/PA Wire
The three sets of twins notched up 30 top grades, with sibling rivalry having played a part in the success of some of them. Picture: Conor Riordan/PA Wire

Like thousands of other students across the country, the pupils received their results by text.

But it left one of the Kelly sisters on tenterhooks when her sibling’s message came through, and hers did not.

Roisin said: “I was really nervous because she’d (Niamh) done so well and if I’d got it after and it was awful then that would’ve been bad.

“I didn’t get my message until much later in the day, so it made it much more nerve-racking and my sister was reassuring me that I would have got the same as her.

“When I eventually got the results, I was just so relieved.”

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Emma McAnish added: “We both got the text at the same time, but I was too scared to open mine. Vivien opened hers first and then ran through to my room, and once I had looked at my results we started celebrating.

“We were jumping up and down and our little sisters and parents came in to join us.”

It isn’t just birthdays the twins share - some of them were even taking exams for the same topics.

Emma and Vivien both did maths, English, biology, chemistry and geography.

Meanwhile, Joseph and Michael Lowrie studied chemistry, physics, biology, English and maths.

Joseph said: “I was hoping for five As to get into medicine, but whatever I had got I would have been happy with because I had worked as hard as I could for the exams.”

Michael added: “We didn’t know what each other had got so it was a bit nervous in our house, so we were delighted to have got the results.

“I’m not completely sure of my career route yet, but I’m pleased with the results I’ve got that all options are still open to me.”

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