TEENAGER Helen Carter has notched up two GCSEs a year ahead of her classmates despite suffering from a severe degenerative disorder.

It is an outstanding achievement for the 15-year-old, whose disability is such that she has to have a helper to write down her answers for her.

Helen, who lives with her mother, Joy, and father, Simon, at their family bungalow in Wheatley Hill, County Durham, was diagnosed with Ataxia Telangiectasia (AT) when she was two.

By the time she was seven, her condition had deteriorated to the point that she became wheelchair-bound.

Much of her life is spent undergoing checks and treatment at hospitals all over the region, but her mother said nothing quelled the determination of the courageous schoolgirl, a pupil at Wellfield School, in Wingate.

Mrs Carter said: “We knew she was doing a lot more studying, but we did not realise she was working towards two of her GCSEs a year early.”

Helen said: “It has been hard work and I was amazed to pass the exams.”

Her delighted parents were taken by surprise when the school rang to inform them of Helen’s success. A mainstream student at the school, the popular pupil, whose condition means that she is unable to write or use a computer with a steady hand, has to rely on a helper.

Speaking from the sitting room of their bungalow where a cabinet crammed with Helen’s trophies and certificates, including a national Child of Achievement Award, takes pride of place, Mrs Carter said: “Despite everything she has had to face, she is always smiling and joking and puts in a huge effort to succeed.”

And while she spends many hours keeping her academic subjects up to scratch, Helen’s heart lies in dramatic arts.

She said she would like to go to college to study media and drama.

Mrs Carter said: “She loves singing and is a member of a stage school in Wingate, where she is set to take part in a Christmas production.”

However, she said: “AT is a progressive and deteriorating condition, and we just take one day at a time.”