Sisters who fled Syria for Kildare achieve massive points total in Leaving Cert exams

Achieving a haul of 560 point in the Leaving Certificate is something to be immensely proud of, but when it comes on the back of moving to Ireland less than two years ago without a grasp of the English language is really something.

That is what Diana Shakdri(18) has done, while her sister Loujin(17) reached a similar feat by scoring a points total of 435 in her exams. The two girls fled the city of Aleppo in Syria less than two years ago due to the civil war that was ripping their home country apart, and neither girl had any grasp of the English language before they arrived.

They attended Maynooth Post Primary School and began to learn English there, and they both want to go on and study medicine, but Diana admits that it was difficult adapting when they first came to Ireland.

“My parents are doctors and I want to be a doctor, the horrible situation in Syria made me want to be a doctor more because I can go and help people,” Diana told the Irish Times.

"It was difficult, it required so much time, study and work. And especially the English, it was really difficult as I’ve been here in Ireland only two years."

Loujin is considering repeating her Leaving Cert so she can achieve a better points total, while Diana is hopeful that the results of her medical application exam, the HPAT, will help secure her a place in college.