A teenager whose tweet about his A-level results attracted more than 12,000 likes hopes his success will show the “positive things black people do every day”.
Pierre Hamenya secured a place at Warwick to read physics after he achieved two A*s and an A in his exams.
The picture of him holding his results on Twitter, with the hashtag #BlackExcellence, was a standout post of results day.
My family believed when I didn't. Now I'm going to Warwick to study physics A* A* A #BlackExcellence #alevelresultsday pic.twitter.com/TCqRtWy8Nk
— peepeero (@ice_breaker_mx) August 17, 2017
Hamenya, who studied at Enfield Grammar School, was born in Ghana but moved to the UK at the age of six. His family moved so Hamenya and his sisters could have the education their parents were unable to have when they were younger.
He said he wanted to inspire people to achieve their goals by sharing his success.
The 18-year-old said: “I often see things like the London riots and the murder of Rash (Rashan Charles) where faces like mine are often portrayed in a negative light.
“I wanted to broadcast the positive things black people do every day, that aren’t always portrayed by the media, to show young black people and others in communities like mine that they could do just as much as the other faces they see on TVs and books.”
We love to see #BlackExcellence celebrated – congratulations! We can't wait to welcome you to Warwick🙌🏾 https://t.co/k79A9UnqIp
— Warwick Anti-Racism (@UWarSoc) August 17, 2017
His tweet also praised his family who “believed when I did not”.
Hamenya added: “I got rejected from Cambridge and lost confidence in myself. My family sat me down, told me I could still do whatever I wanted, pulled me through.”
His family has also been involved with Let Us Learn, a campaign group which helps children who have leave to remain and long residences in the UK access student finance.
Have to give a special shout out to @LetUs_Learn because you guys, I have the funding to see out my dream. Thank you
— peepeero (@ice_breaker_mx) August 17, 2017
Other posts on the #blackexcellence hashtag include congratulation messages, tales of students who are the first in their family to go to university and those who sacrificed nights out to achieve their dream grades by spending evenings studying.
Very proud big sister ! My sister got into Imperial College but is sadly off to Yale 😭 A*A*AA 🙌🏾👏🏿 #BlackExcellence
— Dammy.A (@dami_abiola) August 17, 2017
#BecomeYourAncestorsWildestDreams #BlackGirlMagic #BlackExcellence I GOT INTO CAMBRIDGE! pic.twitter.com/rMbFkY7Mun
— ankhesenamun (@_chiedxa) August 17, 2017
Late but yesss I did it!!! Off to a Russell group uni, thanks to my God #BlackExcellence 🎉🎊😭🙏🏿 pic.twitter.com/QYohzmcB4I
— Sammy (@samata_7) August 18, 2017
Little brother has got into Medicine with A grades in Biology and Maths and a B in Chemistry. So Proud!!#alevelresultsday#BlackExcellence pic.twitter.com/TnST0FeLn6
— TALL MAN (@JosephTumaini) August 17, 2017
My boys are going to Med at Cambridge, Imperial nd Bristol & Dentistry at Birmingham. GUYSSSSS come see #BlackExcellence A*s everywhere here pic.twitter.com/11bk74DV96
— fluffy zimbo (@tayyjc) August 17, 2017
Abibat Bashoroun achieved an A* in history, an A in Sociology and a B in English literature at Ark Globe Academy Sixth Form in South East London.
The 18-year-old who goes by the name @Abibashorun on Twitter wrote: “Those evenings in the library paid off well,” as she celebrated her success.
She added the word “motivation” to her results slip.
Those Friday evening's in the library paid off well. The tears shed this last year I just thank God man. #alevelresultsday #BlackExcellence pic.twitter.com/QTq58QH6vX
— AbsGlxm (@abibashorun) August 17, 2017
She said: “I did spend Friday evenings in the library straight after leaving sixth form from around 6pm to 8pm and also weekends. It was definitely worth it as now I can say that my hard work and dedication has been rewarded.”
Seeing so many black brothers and sisters get into Oxbridge. ❤️❤️❤️❤️#BlackExcellence pic.twitter.com/ogz9Pm9y3y
— ka (@malcolmsaidit) August 18, 2017