A student who was inspired to become a doctor after volunteering in his war-torn homeland has achieved top A-level results.

Abdel Mahmoud, of Brentview Road, Hendon, gained the A* in biology and As in chemistry and maths he needed to study medicine at UCL.

The now 18-year-old was just seven when he and his family sought political asylum in the UK from Libya, and he initially struggled to learn English.

But despite growing up in an unemployed household and caring for his mother and younger siblings, he grew into a high-flying academic student.

Having studied for his exams at City and Islington College, he is now looking forward to his next challenge.

Abdel was inspired to pursue a career in medicine through the college’s careers service, which gave him the opportunity for him to attend lectures at UCL every week for his A-level year.

He said: “I am so happy with my results. I cannot thank my tutors enough and the careers service has provided me with so many opportunities to gain experience.”

“This was amazing experience that I would never get to see on an open day. It has given me great insight in to university life, further knowledge and fuelled my passion to study medicine and go to UCL.”

Abdel has also been given a Helena Kennedy Foundation bursary to help support his studies over the coming years.

Before studying for his A-levels, the teenager had the opportunity to travel to Libya to volunteer and gain experience in the trauma department of a Libyan hospital in Benghazi at the age of 16.

He contacted the Libyan Red Crescent and raised the £900 he needed to go on the trip by holding car boot sales and selling items through his computer-building business.

He said: “It was my first time ever travelling alone abroad. The LRC offered me work at the main Hospital in Benghazi. I spent three weeks there, mainly in the emergency department.

“What compelled me to go was a mixture of wanting to be challenged, finding a sense of maturity while also deciding if going into medicine was something I wanted to do in the future.

“ I think I managed to achieve all that. After my degree I would like to become a humanitarian aid doctor so I can give something back to people in need.”