A student who was left homeless following a major fall-out with his family has netted a place to study Law at Cambridge.

Jacob Lewis, of Cardiff, had been forced to sleep on friends' sofas and studied for twelve hours a day at his college library to attain his top grades. This was on top of a 45 minute commute twice a day.

Earlier in the year, the 22-year-old had been working 24 hours a week to help with his education, until he lost his zero-hours-contract job for asking to take time off during the exam period.

Lewis described the past year as a “hard fight”, during which he was at times “barely eating”. 

His college provided financial support for his travel and accommodation, providing a hotel room for him when he had no other option.

Lewis added: “At one point I became homeless and had to start sofa surfing. Having a permanent home with my family wasn’t an option.”

He thanked the college for being so supportive, describing himself as “incredibly grateful” for “all they did for me”.

Lewis had been previously employed after dropping out of school, but he later returned as a mature student.

His clean sweep of A*s in Sociology, History and Law – for which he achieved full marks – and the Welsh Baccalaureate made him the first student in his family to attend university.

Lewis said: “It’s been a trying time, but it has been worth it."

He added that he has no “firm” plans for life after Cambridge, but will use his “elite education” to try to “make the world a better place”.