Grace Smith makes the grade with England

But when you're made to extend your stay in a foreign country to sit the exams at a British Embassy – extra nerves are excusable.

Mix in the small matter of helping your country qualify for the upcoming World Cup and you have a rollercoaster of emotions.

But that was reality for Villa's Grace Smith as she played a pivotal role in securing England under-17s a spot in the Under-17s World Cup later this year – just days before sitting her maths and geography exams.

The defender, who turned 17 in January, played a large part as John Griffiths' side dramatically snatched the third and final qualifying spot for the showpiece tournament in the Far East.

The young Lionesses came out on top as 2-1 winners in the third-place play-off against Norway in the Women's Under-17 European Championships in Belarus.

Smith, who is now studying and sitting A-Level exams at King Edwards College in Stourbridge, signed for Villa ladies last season and was first called up by the national side last December for a tournament against France and Germany.

But few could have predicted Smith having such an impact in her first major competition. The exciting talent – who is able to play in defence or midfield – even notched two tournament goals in a 12-0 rout against hosts Belarus.

She made her Three Lions debut in a qualifying round clash against Serbia, coming on as substitute with a minute remaining.

More minutes came against Iceland before the Villa star was handed a first start in a 2-0 win over Belgium.

After making the cut for Griffiths' squad that went out to Belarus, Smith began the first group game clash against Norway as a substitute.

But an injury midway through the first-half to skipper Carlotte Wubben-Moy created an opportunity for the Bridgnorth youngster and she grabbed it with both hands.

She started – and netted a brace – in the next game against Belarus before featuring in another 80 minutes (rather than the 90 minutes that adult sides play) in the final group game against Serbia.

That victory qualified England for the semi-finals, where they met Germany and fell just short of a final spot after coming out on the wrong side of a seven-goal thriller.

Smith was an unused sub in the third-fourth play-off success with Norway following Wubben-Moy's recovery, but she had already made her mark in just shy of 300 minutes of competitive tournament action.

If that wasn't enough, personal celebrations were cut short as Smith's return to the UK was put back so she could head to the British Embassy in Minsk to sit the examinations.

"It really seems quite surreal," said proud mum Sarah Holland. "My husband and I were out there for some of the time. It was very exciting and emotional.

"It's not a given that Grace will be selected for the World Cup in Jordan but, touch wood, we'll be there.

"Grace was out there for three weeks and had to stay three extra days with another girl so they could sit maths and geography exams.

"It really was a one big adventure. They were very full days for the girls. A squad of 18 went out and there was about 14 staff. There was everything – physios, sports psychologist, education officers. They covered everything."

Given the professional cool-down sessions, ice baths, police escorts and hundreds of kilometres of travelling to matches, family time was rather difficult to come by.

But Holland had nothing but praise for the job conducted by boss Griffiths.

"We had one evening of family time and that was just an hour-and-a-half in the hotel," she added.

"You could lean over barriers at the stadiums and get pictures but it was difficult.

"John is such a top guy. The girls were so well looked after.

"They all really like him and it's important they're looked after because they're still just children."

Smith has finished the season with the Villa under-17s and she is currently in training with the first team squad where boss Joe Hunt is running the rule over handing the 17-year-old her first-team debut.