Refugee student from Afghanistan wins Eton scholarship

Rohid Zamani, 16, hopes to go on to study medicine

A student from Hull who came to the city after escaping Taliban rule in Afghanistan has secured a place at Eton College.

Rohid Zamani, who is a student at Hull's Sirius Academy, won a £30,000-a-year scholarship after beating off competition from hundreds of other applicants.

He fled Afghanistan with his family in 2000 when he was aged three

The 16-year-old said he hoped to pursue a career in medicine.

Rohid said that the stories told to him by his parents of life under the Taliban in the war-torn country had motivated him in his studies.

He said his mother told him how she witnessed a teenage boy being beheaded in the street for having styled hair.

'Pleasant surprise'

Rohid was one of sixteen candidates selected for a four-day interview at the elite public school, which was founded by King Henry VI in 1440.

His selection means he will become a border at the school and have all his tuition fees and other costs covered by the scholarship.

Adam Rust, head of sixth form at Sirius Academy, said he thought it was the first time a student from Hull had won a scholarship to the public school.

"It was a shock, Mr Rust said.

"A pleasant surprise to all the staff when we found out, and a fantastic achievement for a lovely, level-headed young man."