An orphan who arrived in England, aged 12, unable to speak a word of English, has just achieved a first in his accounting degree.

Hossein Gholami, now 21, left his home country of Afghanistan with his older brother Ali before the effects of the 13-year war had been felt in the southern province of Ghazni where he was born.

They flew to France and drove into the UK, believing there were more career opportunities here, and a young Hossein taught himself English by listening to conversations around him and typing the words he heard into an online translator.

Hossein had been too young to learn English at his village school in Jaghori so when he started at New Line Learning Academy in Boughton Lane, Maidstone, he came up with the method of teaching himself between his weekly classes.

He said: “For the first six months I had no idea what was going on, the first year was hard, but I got used to it. Some people tried to talk to me but I couldn’t understand.

"So I listened to their conversations and typed their words into Google translate. That’s how I made friends.”

Hossein remembers being excited about getting his first push bike in England, the roads in Afghanistan being too bumpy to ride on.

Recalling his early life in Afghanistan, Hossein said: “I went to the local high school, built by a charity using donations from people in the UK and America, where you had to pass exams to move onto the next year.

"There were three buildings and girls and boys were educated separately after year four. If you didn’t do your homework the teacher would hit you on the palm of your hand with a stick. I was hit a few times, it was normal.

“I had three best friends and we used to play football and always hang around together. Since I left I’ve not heard from them but I have friends here now.

“It was peaceful. The village where I lived had the same weather as the UK except during the winter it was snowing all the time.”

Hossein writes and speaks Dari, similar to Persian, and had lessons in Arabic and Pashto, another native language.

He fondly remembers the country’s favourite food, qabuli, a combination of lamb, rice and vegetables, but confesses to also loving British fish and chips.

University would have been an option if he had stayed but incomes are low with teachers, he says, earning the equivalent of £80 a month, not enough to feed a family.

Hossein, who is Muslim, doesn’t remember his parents, who died when he was very young, and was first raised by cousins and later by brother Ali.

He now shares a modest Maidstone flat with Ali, his sister-in-law and their children and is a member of Westree Amateur Boxing Club, Bicknor Road, Park Wood, having competed for Kent in the middleweight category and travelled to Europe for matches.

The young man has a sister and cousins still in Afghanistan but says he can hardly remember them.

He does not know how the American war, which lasted from 2001 to 2014, has affected them.

Hossein achieved 10 GCSEs at New Line Learning and four A levels at Cornwallis Academy, Hubbards Lane, Maidstone, including an A* in business, before moving onto the University of Greenwich, where he has just completed a degree in accounting and finance, gaining a first-class honours.

He is now applying to study for a masters degree in accounting and hopes to start training as an accountant after that.