In May, Education Guardian reported on the plight of two 15-year-olds from a Hartlepool school who feared they might be arrested and removed from the UK at any time. The sisters came to the UK with their mother last year, after fleeing Sri Lanka, a country that has been in the grip of civil war for more than 25 years.
After their request and subsequent appeal for asylum were refused, staff and students started campaigning for the girls to remain in the UK.
With GCSE module exams coming up for the eldest girl, the headteacher, Joe Hughes, felt the uncertainty was causing unnecessary anxiety for the family.
According to the UK Border Agency (UKBA) enforcement guidelines, removal should not be planned within three months of GCSE, A-level or equivalent exams, unless "exceptionally, there is good reason to do so".
The UK’s modular exam system means both girls will be taking exams every three months for the foreseeable future, so in theory, they should be able to remain.
The eldest girl, now 16, recently sat GCSE modules in religious education, maths and science. In her school report, her ceramics teacher writes that she is "a delight, an absolute star. It warms my heart to see her smiling face in lessons."
But the sisters (who wish to remain anonymous) are still uncertain about their fate. There has been no word of their father, believed to have been abducted by government officials in Sri Lanka, or of the 17-year-old brother they left behind. If they are returned to Sri Lanka, they will be killed, they say. "My mum is always crying," says the elder sister. "I get headaches and sometimes I can’t sleep because I am thinking about this. I want to study hard but I find it hard to concentrate."
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