Four sets of twins in same class 'sad' to leave

Jakey (L) and Sammy are "happy and sad" to be moving on to secondary school

Four sets of twins who have spent the whole of primary school in the same class say they are "sad" to be leaving.

Hillcrest Primary in Totterdown, Bristol, initially welcomed five sets of twins in 2017, but one pair has since left the school.

The remaining children, who are all now 11 and ready to move on to secondary school, said there were pros and cons to having so many twins in their class.

"There's a lot of twin birthday parties, that's pretty good," said Isaac, but his sister Eva added: "I don't like sharing a party with him."

Felix (L) and Rudy agreed being friends with other twins was a good thing

Sammy said it was better having lots of twins in the class "because then you don't feel like the only twin".

"And other people get mixed up too, not only you," said his brother Jakey, adding: "You've always got a friend."

Felix said having multiple twins at school meant "other people know how it is".

"We'll be a bit sad, but it's quite a nice experience in Hillcrest," he said.

His brother Rudy said he used to be best friends with a twin who understood the experience and it was "really helpful".

"The good part [about having a twin] is that there's always somebody to play with," he said, adding some of the twins would be going to the same secondary school.

Toady (L) and Noah said being a twin means always having "someone to hang out with"

Noah said it was "really sad" to be leaving primary school.

On having a twin brother, he said: "Sometimes it is really annoying... but then it's nice because you've always got someone who you can hang out with."

"I have someone I can play with and someone who can teach me things that he's into and I'm not," added Toady.

Eva does not enjoy sharing a party with her brother Isaac, but he enjoys how many "twin birthday parties" there are at school

Meanwhile, Eva said she does not like being referred to as "the twins" all the time.

"It's nice, you can relate to someone," she said, but added: "I don't get any space. He's always there."

She is especially annoyed by her brother's eating habits.

"I can't be within a 20-mile radius of her with any peanut butter," said Isaac.

Eva added: "I hate peanut butter so much. I can't handle him. And he's got really loud chewing."

The four sets of siblings have grown up together at Hillcrest Primary School

Headteacher Bridget Norman said it had been "absolutely wonderful" having so many twins in the same class.

She said it had been "a bit of a surprise" when the five sets of siblings enrolled in the same class in 2017.

"It is very unusual. We feel very lucky.

"To be honest they've navigated it themselves," she said, adding they were "ready for the next journey, the next stage of their lives".