Local student Erika Furbert, above, got a happy surprise this week when she received her exam results for the International Baccalaureate.

“I was so shocked that I just started laughing,” the 17-year-old told The Royal Gazette. “I was so happy and in shock that I couldn’t say anything.”

The former Warwick Academy student, who took the IB programme at St Clare’s College in Oxford, scored 40 out of a possible 45 — an exceptionally high result for a diploma where the world average is 30.

She also received seven out of seven points for English, maths and environmental systems — two years after she was commended as one of Warwick Academy’s top students in the IGCSE examinations.

Erika, who was on her own when she received the exam figures, said her parents Malcolm Furbert and Tonesan Amissah “started screaming when I told them”.

The results came as a surprise: “I was completely stressed during exam time — the results determine which university I get into, which is why it was stressful waiting.”

The high score means she has her place at the London School of Economics and Political Science, where Erika plans to study environment and development.