Off to Oxford, Syrian refugee who arrived on frozen chip lorry

TWO years ago, he emerged from his hiding place in a lorry carrying frozen chips and stepped on to British soil for the first time.

Having made the journey from war-torn Syria in just a T-shirt and shorts, 17-yearold Sulaiman Wihba didn’t know what his new life in Britain would hold.

But the refugee, now 20, has exceeded all expectations with his academic achievements – and is now celebrating having won a place at Oxford University.

Sulaiman left Damascus after enduring a daily battle for survival as bombs and bullets rained down on his neighbourhood.

His home became so dangerous that in 2015 he and his mother took the decision to flee. After travelling to Turkey, they endured the dangerous five-hour journey across the Mediterranean in an overcrowded boat. Surviving on meagre supplies, Sulaiman and his mother – who arrived in the UK with just one shoe – made their way to Calais, where they managed to stowaway on a refrigerated lorry.

Within a fortnight of his arrival in Britain, he managed to enrol at a local school and with the help of charity Voices In Exile launched his bid for asylum.

As a way of keeping busy, Sulaiman began teaching Arabic to refugees through the charity, which rented out a room at the prestigious Brighton College. The headmaster at the £23,000-a-year school, Richard Cairns, heard about his selfless work and offered him a full scholarship.

Sulaiman rewarded the faith shown in him by gaining four A*s in further maths, maths, physics and chemistry after sitting his A-levels last summer.

He is overjoyed after being offered a place at Balliol College – which numbers three prime ministers among its alumni – to study maths.

‘For me, this feels truly unbelievable,’ he said. ‘Who would have thought that 17year- old me, jumping off a lorry when I arrived in the UK, could make it to Oxford? I am so grateful as I couldn’t have done any of this if it had not been for my parents and my teachers’ amazing support.’

Mr Cairns said: ‘Sulaiman richly deserves this offer.’ Sulaiman is currently taking a gap year before he begins his studies in October. The rest of his family arrived from Syria last year under the Dubs agreement, a regulation that allows refugees to join their families in another country, and are living in Hove, East Sussex.