To land a place at a university as prestigious as Oxford is quite a remarkable achievement by anyone's standards. But to manage it in just two years after fleeing one of the most war-torn regions on the planet, with only the clothes on your back, is nothing short of incredible.
As incredible as it may be, that's exactly what Sulaiman Wihba did after fleeing his hometown of Damascus in Syria with his mother back in 2015.
Sulaiman, now 20, was granted a full scholarship at £23,000-a-year Brighton College, shortly after arriving in the UK, when headteacher Richard Cairns learned he was teaching Arabic to other refugees.
The selfless young LAD had been using his spare time to teach others the language out of a spare classroom at the school which had been hired by a charity.
Sulaiman went on to reward the faith by smashing his A-levels, earning an astounding four A*s in maths, further maths, physics and chemistry.
According to the Metro, Mr Cairns said: "Sulaiman has worked incredibly hard, in the face of great adversity, and he richly deserves this offer.
"We're proud to have helped this remarkable young man attain his goal. He serves as a shining example to our other pupils of how perseverance and determination are rewarded. We know he will achieve great things in the future."
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Now Sulaiman has been awarded a place at Oxford University, to study mathematics at Balliol College.
As reported by the Metro, he said: "For me, this feels truly unbelievable. Who would have thought that 17-year-old me, jumping off a lorry when I arrived in the UK, could make it to Oxford?
"It's been such a tough journey since I left the bombings and the bullets in Damascus but I wouldn't change anything about it. I am also so grateful as I couldn't have done any of this if it had not been for my parents' and my teachers' amazing support."
Sulaiman and his mother endured a dangerous five-hour sea crossing on an overcrowded boat, before arriving in the UK in the back of a frozen chip van. He was wearing just a pair of shorts and a T-shirt.
While in Damascus, Sulaiman would often be trapped in his school as bombs rained down outside. Now his father and two brothers joined him and his mother in Hove, East Sussex, under the Dubs Amendment, which means refugees have a right to join family members who are legally in another country.
Featured Image Credit: Brighton Pictures / Tony Hisgett (Creative Commons)Topics: UK News, Inspirational, Syria