Brave Preston teen battles cancer to return to Fulwood Academy to sit his GCSEs

As thousands of teenagers pick up their GCSE results today Jack Singleton has a very special reason to celebrate being in the queue at Fulwood Academy.
Jack Singleton during his treatmentJack Singleton during his treatment
Jack Singleton during his treatment

For the 16-year-old is battling cancer and has missed almost a year of schooling. Just being able to sit his exams with his peers was a major achievement.


Jack, from Fulwood, was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia (ALL), an aggressive form of blood cancer when he was 14.

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He spent most of year 10 undergoing intensive chemotherapy.


Jack travelled to and from the Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital as often as three or four times a week and missed a lot of school and was often too ill to study.


Despite being offered a chance to stay back a year, the teen was keen to return to start year 11 with his school pals and went back full time at the Black Bull Lane school.


He added: "I had to work harder than them on some bits, which was annoying as I’d already been through a lot. I got quite tired from the maintenance chemo and had mouth ulcers.

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"I also felt sick, so I often studied at home by myself. I managed to catch up with my friends though and felt quite confident going into my exams.


"For anyone who is worried about keeping up with their year group after missing time at school, I would say it won’t be as bad as you think. Just keep trying and you will pick things up as you go."


He spent a lot of time on the Teenage Cancer Trust unit at the hospital and will have to have maintenance chemo for another five years.

Now Jack is backing the TCT’s #ResultsRedefined campaign, which aims to change the conversation around exam results.

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The campaign want to highlight that everyone has a different journey to taking their exams and learns different things along the way, all of which matter just as much as the final results.

Jack was treated on Teenage Cancer Trust’s unit where he was able to meet other people of his age and make friends. There was also a chill out room where he could relax and play PS4 to take his mind off things.

He has his sights set on doing A-levels at Cardinal Newman and then studying accountancy.

Read all about the success stories online and in our special Friday pullout in the Lancashire Post

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