Stars can be twinned, crystals can be twinned, and animals and humans can be twinned.

In 1997, 8899 sets of twins were born in England and Wales out of 636,015 births overall, this represents 1.4%. Most people can't begin to understand what being a twin involves, let alone understand their feelings and circumstances. This is not unreasonable. Even twins themselves can not begin to imagine the feelings of the family of the two-month-old Siamese twins, Jodie and Mary. This case involves foreign Siamese twins who have come to Britain for the possibility of having surgery to be separated, there are complications. The decision has to be made in court. Should the twins be separated so that Mary dies and Jodie, who is stronger, lives? Or should they remain physically joined when they will both die? The answer might seem simple but it is not because human rights, the effects on the family's lives and most importantly, their feelings are all important. I sympathise with the parents, as a twin myself; I stop, and think, how I would feel. I think that the twins should be allowed to die in peace, united, the reasons I think this are due to the fact that I am a twin and can partly understand.

Different sets of twins have different feelings on being a twin. As a twin myself I have always wanted to be seen as an individual aswell as a twin. To many people being treated as an individual is taken for granted, but how can they be expected to understand. It is the simple things that are difficult, making sure each twin is treated equally and how to get other people to respond to twins as individuals.

Twins are not exactly the same. Identical twins come from the same egg. There are identical twins where the egg split within the first few days, whose environments were different, so they will look similar but not exactly the same and their personalities will be different. This is what I am. If the egg splits at about nine days which is the latest it will split, then the twins will almost be like mirror images, but their personalities still differ. Non identical twins come from two separate eggs so they will look completely different.

The disadvantages of being a twin are related to how other people respond to them. They are often surprised at how different personalities, likes, dislikes and talents are. My sister and I are very different, she is vegetarian, I am not, I like shopping she does not and so on. But the danger is comparison, which can lead to low self-esteem but at the same time it is difficult for others not to compare. My best advice is to treat twins separately. It is nice to get your own birthday card! Then you almost have a chance to feel like everybody else. It is the simple things, which make life as a twin easier.

I think schools should have a policy or support for twins and multiple births to raise awareness of specific issues relating to twins. There are three sets of twins in the sixth form alone at Bishop Heber High School and support would be helpful to help each person develop.

Do you have any comments or questions?

Alison Titchener Bishop Heber Community School e-mail address: alisontitch@hotmail.com Education section

Bishop Heber High School, Malpas