An Exmouth teenager is celebrating after gaining 11 A* grades in his GCSEs - having taken them a year early.

Riordan Deehan-Jackson, 15, of Merrion Avenue, attends Colyton Grammar School, where pupils take the exams at the end of Year 10.

Riordan’s grades included a 100 per cent score in biology, as well as A*s in maths, English language, English literature, chemistry, physics, French, German, history, business studies and RE.

Riordan’s achievement is made all the more remarkable as he had to do much of his revision without electricity, after the family home was flooded.

Riordan, who plays cricket for the Budleigh Salterton youth team and Woodbury men’s team, said: “We were in Egypt when we got a call from my grandma saying a pipe had burst and the house had been flooded.”

Having been told the damage would take several months to fix, Riordan’s family had brief stays at the Beacon Hotel and at a house in Budleigh Salterton, before moving to a house in Yettington which had no electricity or internet.

“I had lots of time on my hands so I just worked really hard, without the internet or Facebook to distract me, although I didn’t play as much cricket as I’d have liked,” said Riordan.

“My teachers were really supportive, and my family gave me peace and quiet. I’d been predicted to do well, but it was still a bit of a shock to get these grades.”

Riordan, who hopes to become a journalist when he is older, was joined in his achievement by his sister Ciara, who achieved five As at AS level, despite having to take her exams the week after the family’s house was flooded.

Their father Mark Jackson said: “We were a bit displaced for some time, and Riordan and Ciara both did fantastically well in adversity.”

Riordan now plans to return to Colyton to do his A Levels, before going on to university.