A determined student who has overcome racism, truancy and the burden of providing for his family has turned his life around.

Life growing up in Bradford was tough for British Bangladeshi Samadul Haque.

A bright pupil, the 21-year-old claims to have been subjected to racism by classmates at high school. He skipped class, dropped out of school and narrowly avoided being sucked into drug dealing.

“The word that comes to mind when I look back on my childhood and teenage years is despair,” said Mr Haque.

“Had it not been for the values my parents taught me, I would’ve easily gone down that miserable route.”

Despite doing well at Byron Primary School, in Bradford, he dropped out of Carlton Bolling College at 16.

His huge promise looked wasted, but a remarkable show of character has put him back on track for securing a place at university.

He takes his A-levels at Bradford College next summer and aims to study for a politics or theology degree.

He has just returned home after being selected by the college to visit Cambridge University as one of 700 students from across the world invited to a summer school camp.

A diary entry he wrote describing his experiences has been picked as one of the best for its honesty.

He writes: “My parents came to work in the textile industry but the mills eventually collapsed and my father was out of work.

“I did well in first and second school, especially in maths, but in upper school, things began to go wrong.

“I was subjected to much racial abuse and I started truanting, spending days wandering the streets.

“Between the ages of 14 and 16, I missed so much school that my parents were threatened with fines and I was put on a programme to remain in education. I felt terribly isolated.”

His prospects were depressing.

“I left school and was under pressure due to financial constraints.

“My city is rife with drug crime and on countless occasions I was tempted by offers from drug dealers to make ‘easy money’.”

Instead he took a series of low-paid jobs to support his family. When the family finances were in order he enrolled at Bradford College where he was encouraged to apply for a subsidised summer school at Cambridge University.

His future suddenly seems rosier.

“Thanks to the experience of attending the Going Further Summer School, I’ve reconsidered my prospects and I’m aiming even higher,” said Mr Haque.

“I now aim for Cambridge, one of the best universities in the world.”

He is waiting to hear how he was done in his AS-level exams and is working at a restaurant over the summer.

He also volunteers for a homeless children project and is a member of the Bradford Civil Rights Youth Project.

By Ben Barnett