A father was rushed to hospital after facing a ‘mini heart attack’ once discovering his son’s downgraded A-level results.

Shailen Patel, 18, from Harrow was originally predicted to earn three A’s for his A-levels but was shocked to find exam boards had downgraded this to a B and two C’s.

The John Lyon School student who aspired to study Medicine the University of Manchester therefore had his dreams of studying this year shattered, due to not meeting the minimum AAA grade requirement needed for most Medicine courses in the country.

Due to the coronavirus pandemic, A-level students were set to receive their predicted grades rather than taking part in an exam.

But exam boards downgraded nearly two in five (39.1 per cent) pupils’ grades in England, according to data from Ofqual – which amounts to around 280,000 entries being adjusted down after moderation.

Mr Patel called the discovery of his grades “quite a shock”.

His father began to feel a “tight chest” and collapsed upon hearing the news, which his family describes as a minor heart attack.

As a result, the father was rushed to St Mary’s Hospital in the middle of the day.

NHS documentation seen by the Harrow Times shows the initial assessment was the chest pain occurred after hearing about his son’s poor exam results.

After inspection, the father was calmed down and doctors diagnosed the incident was likely an anxiety attack.

Mr Patel then discovered that his Centre Assessed Grades were lowered partially due to his absence during earlier mock exams after facing an extreme illness.

Now the student is planning on resitting his exams, depending on what the appeal process may be.

At the moment schools are waiting to hear more about how appeals could work.

He said: “A lot of students have been treated unfairly. A lot of medics have been unable to get into their university of choice or any university at all.”

He fears that actions this year could affect the number of students wishing to study medicine in the years to come.

Mr Patel added: “I did work extremely hard.”

A spokesperson from John Lyon School said: "We send Shailen and his family our thoughts very best wishes having heard his father was taken unwell.

"This year has been especially difficult for all students taking A-level exams. Our sixth form team will continue to remain available to help all A-level students who are still to confirm places at university or who need more clarity about the grades they have been awarded."