A TEENAGER accepted into Oxford University received his results in a hospital bed after contracting meningitis.

Alex Clarke, who studied at Westcliff High School for Boys, was hoping to attend the school to pick up his results.

Instead the 18-year-old found himself in a hospital bed at Royal Cornwall in Truro after coming down with the potential deadly illness.

As he could not get there his father drove from Cornwall to pick them up on his behalf.

Alex said: “My Dad drove back to school and collected the results, but we found out from the hospital around half-an-hour before they were released.

“That was such a big relief and I was so happy that I did not have to wait to find out.

“It has really cheered me up considering what’s going on right now.”

Alex achieved three A* in economics, Government and politics and maths - and a B in further maths.

He will study economics at Oxford University, after recovering from the major health scare.

Alex was on holiday in Watergate Bay, near to Newquay, when he came down with the illness.

His mother, Jemima, who also works at the school, said the illness happened very suddenly.

She said: “It all started on Monday.

“Alex had a very high temperature and really severe flu symptoms.

“He could not get out of bed.

“By the time we got medical advice, they decided that he needed to be rushed to hospital where he was put straight onto an IV antibiotics drip.”

Celebrations with his friends will have to be delayed for a bit longer for Alex as Jemima believes he is unlikely to be released from the Cornish hospital until Wednesday next week.

However, the stay in hospital has not stopped Alex from being excited about his future.

She added: “He was absolutely over the moon when he got the results.

“We have had so much support from the school, the university and from UCAS.

“The school has been fantastic and have kept in touch and the university have been so great about the situation.

“Everyone around us has been so supportive.”

Alex said that once he is nursed back to full health he is ready for the next challenge he faces at Oxford.

He said: “I really liked the sound of Oxford and Cambridge as universities because of their tutorial system.

“I wanted to be able to benefit from that experience.

“I picked Oxford over Cambridge because of the city.

“I went to some open days with Westcliff and I visited the city a few times with family, it always felt like the right place for me. It’s nice to know I have the results and now I can have a month away to relax. Getting my A-Levels has really perked me up and I can’t wait to move to Oxford.”