TRIPLETS Rebecca, Andrew and Toby Wilton have each won a

place at Oxford University.

The 18-year-olds from Duffield are thought to be the first

triplets in the history of the prestigious university to each

win a place at its colleges.

Andrew, who is due to study philosophy and theology at Lady

Margaret Hall, said they tensely awaited yesterday's A-level

results together.

He said: "We couldn't start celebrating until we knew we

were all in."

The triplets' success has been described as a "truly

remarkable achievement". A spokesman for the university said

there was no record of any other triplets winning places

together.

Rebecca will be going to Worcester College to study French

and German, and Toby will go to Hertford College to study

history.

The triplets attended Duffield's Meadows Primary School

until the age of 11 and since then have been pupils at

Ecclesbourne School.

Parents Sarah and Timothy Wilton, who is a Derby orthopaedic

surgeon, both attended Oxford University, as well as their

three older siblings.

Mrs Wilton said she was delighted the triplets had succeeded

in getting their grades.

She said: "We weren't sure what would happen if they didn't

all make it.

"But now they have, we are very proud, although it will be

very quiet when they leave home in September."

Andrew gained A grades in religious studies, English

literature and maths; Rebecca in French, German and English

literature and Toby in history, geography and English

literature.

An Ecclesbourne spokesman said: "We are absolutely delighted

for Rebecca, Andrew, Toby and their family. Their achievement

is truly remarkable and utterly deserved.

"It is always a joy for students and their teachers when the

grades for which they have worked so hard are attained."

The trio had been on tenterhooks following conditional

offers from their respective colleges at the university, which

asked for three A-grade A-levels from each of them.

Andrew said things had got tense 24 hours before the results

were due.

He added: "I think we were all conscious that, if any one of

us failed to get the right results, it would be difficult for

the others to be happy about getting in.

"We checked online first thing yesterday morning to see if

we had been awarded places.

"I was the last to look after the others knew they were

in.

"We couldn't start celebrating until we knew we were all in.

That was a long few minutes."

Andrew said that, although the triplets were close, they

were competitive and mixed in different social circles.

He said: "Our competitiveness is really in sport. Becky

likes to play netball, I play golf and football and Toby also

enjoys football.

"We don't compete against each other but we compare how well

each of us is doing in our respective sports."

Click on the button to share this story with a

friend

"addthis_url = location.href; addthis_title = document.title; return addthis_click(this);"

target="_blank">

"http://s9.addthis.com/button1-addthis.gif" width="125" height=

"16" border="0" alt="Bookmark and Share">