Straight A student faces deportation

A brilliant teenager who fled the Russian mafia to study in London has gained three straight As in her A-levels - but may now be put on a plane back to her homeland.

Vera Broussova, who arrived here three years ago speaking virtually no English, fears her dream of studying maths at Imperial College London could be shattered if the Home Office deports her and her mother Svetlana.

Svetlana said they were forced to flee Russia by gangsters who threatened to kill them if they refused to close down a veterinary surgery they ran in the town of Azov.

They entered Britain illegally and made an application for asylum. It was swiftly rejected by the Home Office, which insisted the two would not be persecuted if they were sent home. But the Broussovas are appealing against that decision, claiming that to refuse them would be a breach of their human rights. They are awaiting the outcome of the appeal.

"I desperately want to stay in Britain and start my studies at Imperial College," said Miss Broussova, 18, who gained A-grades in maths, further maths and information technology and hopes to work in banking.

"After all that I have been through, we can't be sent back now. We were threatened that if we didn't leave Russia we would be killed. We can never go back."

Her mother, who is 35, added: "We cannot go back to Russia. Our lives are in danger from these gangsters."

Family friend Dr Petra Clarke, of the Medical Foundation for the Victims of Torture, said: "Business in Russia is still controlled by the state and by criminal gangs. Svetlana faced both hurdles when she decided to open her veterinary surgery. Here was this gutsy woman who set up her own business. It did not go down well.

"The gangs are better known as the Russian Mafia. They use harassment and persecution to get their way."

Ms Broussova and her mother arrived in England in August 1999. An only child, her father died in a factory accident when she was two. At first she had such limited English she could only say: "Hello, my name is Vera," and: "Thank you."

She said: "I understood so little English a teacher had to hop up and down in the classroom to explain the word 'jump'."

But with the help of dedicated teachers at Seven Kings High School in Ilford, Essex - who would stay back to give her extra lessons - Ms Broussova's education flourished.

She was entered for her GCSEs only six months after her arrival in Britain, passing maths and Russian with A* grades and music and art with A grades. Teachers Joe Byrne and Carol Jones then gave her extra lessons in A-level English and maths.

A Home Office spokeswoman refused to comment on the details of the Broussovas' case but said: "There is nothing to stop a person awaiting an immigration claim from taking up a university place." However she added that while asylum seekers could use a university place to support their bid to stay in the country, it would not be enough to prevent them being deported if they lost their case.

The spokeswoman said: "The applicant can claim that to return them or refuse them entry is a breach of their human rights under the European Convention on Human Rights. This gives them a right to appeal to the Immigration Appellate Authority.

"There has been a backlog of asylum casework but we aim to give an initial decision in two months and process the appeal within four months."

However, the Broussovas say they have been waiting nearly three years for their appeal to be dealt with.