Kaashif Kamaly, 15, will swap Forest Gate in the East End of London for the hallowed halls of the world-famous public school after winning a two-year scholarship.
He will rub shoulders with the elite when he takes his place at the school near Windsor, Berkshire, to study A-level Maths, Chemistry, English Literature, Biology and History next September.
Kaashif, who has an older brother, Ihtisham 21, and a younger sister Tasneem, nine, is looking forward to going to Eton but insists he won’t forget his roots.
He said: ‘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 but it won’t change who I am and where I have come from, nor would I want it to.’
Kaashif credits his immigration officer father, Shah, who works at Heathrow Airport despite a disability.
His mother was born in Bangladesh, while his father was born in the UK but returned to Bangladesh to be educated. He moved back to London after to school to work when he was a teenager.
He described his father as being his ‘hero’ for instilling the work ethic that has helped him succeed.
He added: ‘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.’
Kaashif currently attends Forest Gate Community School, where despite over two thirds of pupils being classed as disadvantaged, the school is rated Ofsted Outstanding.
It was ranked 14th best in the country for GCSE results and this year won the Evening Standard Best School in Challenging Circumstances award.
Kaashif, who is predicted A* in all his GCSEs, added: ‘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. Teachers won’t have had to help pupils at Eton deal with that.’
Eton, founded by Henry VI in 1440, has produced a host of leading public figures, including the former Prime Minster David Cameron and Home Secretary Boris Johnson Prime Minister.
Other well-known Old Etonians include cultural figures such as Percy Bysshe Shelley, George Orwell, Hugh Laurie and Damian Lewis.
Kaashif added: ‘It is much harder to help someone make something of themselves coming from this background than it will be at top independent schools. The journey we have to take is much harder and longer.
‘That doesn’t make me feel intimidated. Instead it has built a fire inside me. It just means I have to worker harder, work longer.
‘It doesn’t bother me. It is something I have had to do my entire life. It is no struggle. What my dad has had to do to make a good life for his family, that is struggle.’
Kaashif is the second pupil from Forest Gate Community School to have won a scholarship to Eton after former pupil Ishak Ayiris earned a place at the prestigious school in 2014.
He is now studying at the School of African and Oriental Studies.
Headteacher Simon Elliott said: ‘Something has happened at this school that even as headteacher is difficult to quantify.
‘We have students now who despite coming from one of the poorest areas in the country have the same belief as pupils at top independent schools, that nothing is out of their reach.
‘This is the kind of success we believe should and could be replicated at other schools with a similar profile to ours. Background should be no barrier to belief and ultimately success. We have proved that.’
Because his father works the family are not eligible for pupil premium money but are said come from a low socio economic background.
He has received a 100 per cent scholarship to Eton which means the family meet a low-income threshold.
None of Kaashif’s family have ever been to university.
Britain is “a long way” from a level playing field to non-white groups, according to a recent study.
Despite outperforming other ethnic groups and showing vast improvements at every level of education, pupils of Pakistani and Bangladeshi decent are still significantly less likely to be employed in managerial or professional jobs compared to their white counterparts, according to a study by Social Mobility Commission.
The report’s lead author, Bart Shaw, added that other factors such as cultural norms, family expectations, and geography also played a part.
White working class children are among the worst performers at primary and secondary school, and were also the least likely to pursue higher education.
According to the data, only one in 10 of the poorest in the group would go on to university, compared to three in 10 for black Caribbean children, five in 10 for Bangladeshis,
“In recent months, the low educational attainment of white British boys has gained significant attention. However, when it comes to the transition from education to employment, this group is less likely to be unemployed and to face social immobility than that of their female counterparts, black students and young Asian Muslims,” said the report.
