Brian White: Petition to help teenage 'genius' who won Oxford place to stay in UK reaches 80,000 signatures
'He is possibly the hardest working person I have ever met, but it is his enthusiasm to help those around him that I am inspired by each and every day,' says friend of student
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Your support makes all the difference.A star student who was orphaned as a baby in Zimbabwe faces being deported from Britain and losing his place at Oxford University.
Brian White, from Wolverhampton, was raised in an orphanage in the country until the age of six before being adopted by a family who moved to the UK when he was 15.
The Home Office did not grant the grade A student Indefinite Leave to Remain which means he is now at risk of being returned to his country of birth.
A petition calling for him to be allowed to take up his place at Oxford University to study Chemistry has garnered over 80 thousand supporters and the hashtag “Get Brian to Oxford” is gaining increasing traction online.
Mr White, who gained four A* students at A-Level, had his application to become a British citizen by naturalisation rejected in 2014. Although his family appealed, that was also rejected.
In a statement, immigration expert, Louis MacWilliam, said: “On reviewing his papers it seems he should have been granted indefinite leave to enter at first instance and it is not clear why this did not happen.”
He is now awaiting the decision of his current application and a spokesperson for the Home Office has said it is aware of the “urgency” of the case.
Mr White was already barred from starting Oxford in 2016 after he was considered illegible to receive student finance. Mr White said that while the university had kept his place open for a year he could be in danger of losing it if his Home Office application is not approved.
He told the BBC: "I don't feel like there is much I can do except wait which is not the best of things to do. I just want to be there, go to university and be a normal person, rather than sit around and wait to see if I can stay here or get deported".
Authors such as Philip Pullman and Caitlin Moran have shared the petition which was started by his friend Luke Wilcox.
Writing in the petition, Mr Wilcox said he hoped to make the Home Office aware just how many people deem his friend a “fitting and valued member" of British society.
He said: “I have had the personal pleasure of knowing Brian since the start of 2013, having met him at school and quickly developing a close friendship with him. He is possibly the hardest working person I have ever met, but it is his enthusiasm to help those around him that I am inspired by each and every day.”
Pullman, who is known for fantasy trilogy His Dark Materials, said: “Home office: Help Brian White remain in the UK to take his place at Oxford University!”
Moran, who penned How to Be a Woman, tweeted: “18-year-old Wolverhampton Maths genius about to be deported because of a paperwork error ffs.”
Crime writer Sarah Hilary said: “Help Brian White remain in the UK to take his place at Oxford University”.
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