No matter how adverse your circumstances may be, you prosper if you believe in industry and put in the necessary effort.
A son of an immigrant is set to join the world famous public school at Eton after winning prestigious £76,000 scholarship.
Fifteen-year-old Kaashif Kamaly, who lives in one of London’s most deprived areas, will follow in the footsteps of Princes William and Harry after bagging the two-year scholarship.
He will rub elbows with the elite as he swaps deprived Forest Gate in east London for the plush classrooms in upmarket Windsor, Berkshire.
Kaashif will study A-Level Maths, Chemistry, English Literature, Biology and History next September.
He studies at the Forest Gate Community School in east London and is predicted to get an A* in all of his GCSEs.
He says, “My family have struggled their entire life to make a better future for me and my siblings. I am a product of that environment. I haven’t known privilege like many of the pupils at Eton. I have this extraordinary opportunity that I will grab with both hands.”
Kaashif says he is looking forward to the challenge but won’t forget his roots. “It won’t change who I am and where I have come from, nor would I want it to. Eton is a fantastic school, probably the best in the country, but what the teachers have helped me achieve at Forest Gate Community School is even bigger. The pupils at Eton are sons of kings and queens, lords and judges. In this area, there are many, many social problems. Gangs, drugs, crime, poverty, these are common issues in Newham.”
Kaashif has an older brother, Ihtisham 21, and a younger sister Tasneem, nine. His mother Sheuly Begum was born in Bangladesh.
For Kaashif his hero is his father Shah Mia. He credits him for instilling the work ethic that has helped him succeed. Shah works as an immigration officer at Heathrow Airport despite a disability.
“My dad has a lot of injuries, shattered knee and slipped disc, but has instilled moral and ethics that you have to work, you have to pay your way in the world. He crosses London every day to work at Heathrow airport to work as an immigration officer. He is always at work trying to make life better for his family. He is my hero,” the grounded teenager adds.
Founded in 1440, Eton has educated 19 prime ministers. Kaashif is the second pupil from Forest Gate Community School to have won a scholarship after Ishak Ayiris earned a place in 2014.
