A schoolboy who cares for his disabled mother in their council flat has been awarded an ￡80,000 scholarship to Eton College.

       Ilyan Benamor, 15, who has been the sole carer for his mother since the age of 11, passed three entrance exams and multiple interviews to secure his place at the world-famous school, which counts the Dukes of Cambridge and Sussex and Boris Johnson among its many illustrious alumni.

       The youngster said: "Eton is incredible, it is the number one school in the world. I am so excited to be a part of it. It feels almost like a dream that I will be going there.

       "I want to be a politician so I can make a difference in my homeland and help them fix the problems that still plague the country today."

       His mother, Laila Amal Chikhaoui, fled Algeria just before he was born. She survived cancer when Ilyan was just nine but now suffers from a debilitating condition called Functioning Neurological Disorder, which means she struggles with her mobility and has been confined to a wheelchair.

       Ms Chikhaoui was overjoyed about her son's achievement, describing it as a "gift from God".

       "I am so happy and relieved," she said. "Living in east London, you worry when they get to teenage years something may happen because of gangs and knife crime.

       "But Eton is not a place where you have to worry about these things. He can have a new life."

       Ilyan and his mother do not have any family in the UK, but his uncle plans to move over so that he can take on the responsibility of caring for Lalia while Ilyan is away at school.

       He becomes the latest graduate of the Community Schools Trust’s prestigious colleges programme, which helps disadvantaged pupils win places at top fee-paying schools.