A BRAINY Southall teen has won a place on a prestigious summer school at Yale University in the US. 

Villiers High School sixth form student Muaaz Muhammad,17, from West Drayton, beat out more than 15,000 pupils across the UK to be offered a place on the Sutton Trust programme. 

Muaaz, who got 12 *A in his GCSEs, will spend the first week of August living on campus and will visit other US universities in the area. 

The programme, for children from low income families, is aimed at helping UK students win scholarships to the top universities in America.  

Muaaz will get help with admission tests, college choices and his application — in the hope he can return next year as a permanent student. 

He said: "I was blown away when I found out I had been accepted.

"It is not enough just to be good academically, to win a place on this programme A*s are the minimum. 

"You have to show them that there is more to your character than just brains to get on. 

"This is the first step for me in hopefully becoming a student there full time. That truly would be my dream. 

"The reason I am on this programme is because we [my family] don't have much money so getting into somewhere like Yale would be completely life changing."

Muaaz thanked teachers at Villiers for helping him with his application. 

He added: "This would not have happened without the support of teacher at the school.  

"It takes a lot of work to get into places like this. They were with me every step of the way, helping with applications, staying behind with me to work on interview strategy. I can't thank them enough."

Fellow Villiers sixth form students Navjot Jagdev, 17, Norwood Green, has won a place on the Sutton Trust programme at Imperial College. 

He said: "This is a great opportunity for me. I want to make the most of it."

Headteacher Remo Iafrate said: "We are extremely proud of Muaaz's achievement. 

"He is an inspiration to everyone at Villiers High as he has shown us what can be done by working hard and continuously towards your dreams. 

 "We are very much looking forward to hearing him talk about his experience at Yale on his return and I am sure he will motivate other students to achieve as highly."