A homeless student has won a place to study law at England’s prestigious Cambridge University.

Jacob Lewis, 22, achieved full marks in both english and history after he dropped out of school at 17 and worked in debt management for three years.

Mr Lewis decided to go back to high school last year, but admitted it was a “trying time”.

From “sofa surfing” to this. Photo: Cambridge University

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Without the support of his family, Mr Lewis was forced to work 24-hour weeks while studying 12-hour days to support himself, reported The Independent.

“At one point I became homeless and had to start sofa surfing. Having a permanent home with my family wasn’t an option,” he told the site.

Coleg y Cymoedd’s school library, where Mr Lewis often spent entire days, supported him with a hardship fund and temporarily housed him in an hotel.

Despite the hardship, Mr Lewis’ top marks were enough to secure him a place to study law at Cambridge – renowned as one of the more prestigious courses in the world.

Mr Lewis will be the first member of his family to go to university, but is yet to decide what he’ll do once he graduates.

“I haven’t got any firm career plans for after Cambridge, but I have a sincere commitment to try and make the world a better place with the advantages that elite education will give me,” he said.

Cambridge was ranked the second best university in the world after America’s MIT in the 2014/2015 QS World University Rankings.