‘Unbelievably proud’: Luton pupils celebrate A-level and BTec results

Mohammad Danyaal Asif, who achieved 3A*s. At Luton sixth form college, about 60% of the students do a combination of A-levels and BTecs. Photograph: Sean Smith/The Guardian

When Yasser Imlahi Iallouchen arrived to collect his BTec results on Thursday morning, he said he was so nervous he could barely breathe. “I felt like I was going to cry, vomit, collapse. I was just so worried and scared because it’s something that will affect my future,” he said.

Imlahi Iallouchen needed to achieve DDD in his BTec in biomedical science – which is the equivalent of three A grades at A-level – to get into Queen Mary University of London, where he hoped to study.