An inspirational woman who lived in supported accommodation in Wisbech after coming to the UK with no qualifications - is about to start her degree in London to become a doctor.

Nora Mohammed, 19, moved into a room at the Wisbech Foyer on North Street when she turned 18.

Her lifelong dream of becoming a doctor was thrown into doubt when at the age of just 15, after her father lost his job in Saudi Arabia and the family were forced to move back to Africa.

While Nora was taken into care in Cambridge, her older sibling, who has mental health issues, was moved to Scotland.

When Nora was 18, the support she had been receiving from social services stopped and she says she was left feeling “totally alone”.

“It was a very difficult time. I had no-one,” she explained.

“That was until my personal advisor found that there might be an opportunity for me to move to the Foyer. That’s when things started to change.”

Each resident has their own room at the Foyer, which is operated by Longhurst Group member company Axiom, with access to shared facilities, including a communal lounge, kitchen and laundry room.

Having arrived in the UK with no qualifications to her name, the normality and security offered by the Foyer enabled Nora to refocus on her education and begin to plot the route to her dream career.

She began working towards a Level 3 qualification in Biomedical Science, balancing her studies with her new-found job as a lab technician and regular trips to visit her brother.

“I didn’t know if I was going to be accepted at the University of Westminster,” she said.

“But I got better grades than they needed in the end and so they accepted me, which was brilliant. It’s just a dream come true.

“I came to the UK with no GCSEs but now I’m going to university. I can’t believe how much my life has turned around.”

Helen Florence, service manager at Wisbech Foyer, said: “Since moving to the Foyer, Norah has flourished as individual and we’re proud to have been able to help her on her journey. To see her achieve what she has is incredible and she’s a real inspiration to us all.”