A GIRL will be heading to sixth form thanks to the first robot of its type in the UK - after taking her GCSEs in bed.

Jade Gadd, from Durham, suffers from Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (EDS), a debilitating condition which means she is sometimes in bed for weeks at a time.

As a result she missed big chunks of school in the lead up to her exams and her English Literature paper took 11 hours to complete because she passed out so many times.

The 17-year-old, who did a maths GCSE last year, was able to take exams in English language and literature thanks to a team of invigilators who attended her home.

She said: “I’ve been terrified for days but the results aren’t bad.

“The exams were hard. One of them took me 11 hours because I was so ill and at one point I forgot who I was and I was thinking I was a toddler.

“Another one took six hours. It was insane. It was awful. Being stressed and tired makes it all worse so it was pretty hard.

“I’m so pleased with the results and I’m so excited about sixth form.”

She got the top grade for English language and also managed to get a level six in English literature.

Jade, from Newton Hall, was able to attend Durham Johnston School to pick up her results, and will be returning to the sixth form next year, where she is hoping to be able to take part in more classes thanks to a new robot which has been flown in from Norway.

It means she will be able to control the robot from her bed, using an iPad, and can talk to teachers and take part in classes even when she is not well enough to leave the house.

It is believed to be the first time the model, which was created to try and stop children with long-term illnesses from becoming socially isolated, has been used in the UK. She said: “It’s absolutely amazing.”

Her mum Roz said: “We didn’t think she could do A-levels because the same support isn’t there. It’s really given her a lifeline and we can actually think of her going to university now which we couldn’t do before. With A-levels she just wouldn’t be able to catch up if she kept missing classes.”

Jade was diagnosed with EDS in 2014, which means her joints dislocate almost constantly and she also suffers from frequent seizures.

Her family is trying to raise £30,000 to make alterations to their home to give Jade more independence and so she will not be confined to her bedroom for such long stretches of time. So far they have raised around £11,000 but are still appealing for donations.