Nothing could deter Fatoumata Kourouma Conde from completing the high-school exam for which she had spent the past year preparing. Not even childbirth.

The 18-year-old from the town of Mamou, in eastern Guinea, realised she was just about to give birth as she sat down for the physics part of her baccalaureate, a high-school diploma that entails exams in a range of subjects. She was rushed to hospital where within 10 minutes she delivered a baby boy.

Just 40 minutes after leaving the exam room she was back at her desk, stunning her family who had rushed to the clinic, as well as the invigilators.

Her tale, recounted by the local media, was confirmed by the head of the exam centre, Mohamed Diakite.

Conde told AFP she had told no one, including her husband, that the birth was imminent, “out of fear that they would ask me to stay at home or go and see my doctor.”

She said: “I just couldn’t bring myself to imagine missing a single exam for my baccalaureate, which I have been studying for the whole year.”

One of her relatives said her husband, a corporal in the police, was delighted and was telling everyone who would listen about “this terrific woman”.

“Everyone in Mamou is congratulating them and we are praying to God that Fatoumata gets her baccalaureate,” said the relative, who expressed a wish that the baby would be named Espoir, “Hope” in French.