A PUPIL who chose to have his leg amputated six months before his GCSE exams is walking tall after scooping ten top grades.

Despite having a two-stage amputation, which meant missing most of the first term of his GCSE exam year last autumn, and having a prosthetic leg fitted in January, Ripon Grammar School student Monty Merchie achieved two A*s, three As, four Bs and a C grade.

Monty, who was born with a congenital malformation in the bones in his left leg, underwent more than 25 operations before opting to have the leg amputated and suffering a bone infection.

The 16-year-old, of Boroughbridge, said: "It was quite an easy decision to make in the end; I was just ready to get on with life.

"I'm standing here now without crutches, which I had for ten years."

Monty said he planned to stay on at the school to study A levels in physics, maths, Spanish and music, and had ambitions to be a music producer or sound engineer.

The school's headmaster Martin Pearman said it was remarkable that Monty had achieved strong GCSE results despite the amount of school time he missed and the experiences he had gone through.

He added: "Monty is an extremely courageous young man and an inspiration to everyone here."