A teenager from one of Britain’s poorest areas has won a £38,000-a-year scholarship to Eton College.
Stephen Geddes, from Dingle, Liverpool, will study his A-Levels at the elite public school in Windsor, whose former alumni include Princes William and Harry and Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson.
The 16-year-old, currently a pupil at Liverpool's King’s Leadership Academy, will study maths, biology, chemistry and physics when he starts in September.
The teenager said he was “in shock” over the news and his mother had “not stopped crying since”.
“When I told my teacher, Mr (David) Crosby, who had helped me prepare for the interviews, he took off his glasses and there were tears in his eyes," he said.
“I had two interviews, one with the head of department and one with the headmaster. King’s really prepared me for them because a lot of what they do is about giving you confidence and I was confident when I met them. Going to a place like Eton is something I’d love to be part of. I know that it will change my life.”
Mr Geddes’ mother, Brenda, is a 54-year-old carer and his father, 50, works in the frozen food section at a local Tesco.
They live in a council-owned property in the working class area of inner-city Liverpool. Stephen is the youngest of four children.
Dingle is in the top 10 per cent of most deprived areas in England, according to the Department for Communities and Local Government.
He earned his place thanks to a bursary from SpringBoard Bursary Foundation and the Hope Opportunity Trust, two organisations who help disadvantaged children into elite boarding schools across Britain.
“I had two interviews, one with the head of department and one with the headmaster,” he said. “King's really prepared me for them because a lot of what they do is about giving you confidence and I was confident when I met them.
"Going to a place like Eton is something I'd love to be part of. I know that it will change my life."
His teacher David Crosby said he was in “tears” when he found out the news.
He added: “I imagined Stephen in the future, filling out his CV. When he comes to the section marked 'education' he would write: ‘King's Leadership Academy, Liverpool' and then 'Eton College'.”
The Academy's principal Mark O’Hagan added that Stephen's achievement would inspire his fellow pupils.
“They may not want to go to Eton but they might see what Stephen has done and tell themselves that they might want to make the best of their education here at King’s through good grades or sporting excellence," he said. "This will have an impact on everyone around Stephen"
