A young man who lost his mother to cancer at the age of 15 is preparing to study medicine at one of the best universities in the world.

Suraj Cheema, who attends Queen Elizabeth School in Barnet, pulled out a top set of GCSEs and three A* A-levels after losing his mum to cancer when he was 15.

"It had an effect on me at the time but I always knew I wanted to keep going, my education and everything, that was always my hymn so I had to keep focused and keep going really," said the 18-year-old.

Having visited his mum while she was in hospice care, he went on to serve as a volunteer at the Michael Sobell Hospice in Northwood. 

His family were also featured in Channel 4's Great Stand Up to Cancer Bake Off.

At school he was a vice captain for charity and community and is a keen saxophone player and vocalist.

Now, after success in his biology, chemistry and physics he has won a place studying medicine at UCL, which is ranked sixth in the world for the subject.

But with the field of medicine before him, Suraj has not yet decided which direction to take his studies in.

"It's still really early to know what I'll do with it, I'll keep my options open," he added.