A HAMPSHIRE student has been the star of the show in a Channel 4 documentary focusing on the lives of white men from disadvantaged backgrounds tonight.

Working Class White Men’ is a two-part documentary, presented by rapper Professor Green, real name Stephen Manderson, and aims to explore what life is like for six white men from disadvantaged backgrounds, and why many of them feel abandoned, and what the consequences ultimately may be.

As part of the filming, Green visited Eastleigh to meet Lewis Croney, the son of a hairdresser and nail technician and followed him over a period of six months while he was studying at Barton Peveril.

Lewis achieved incredible results the college, attaining A*s in Maths, Further Maths and Physics, which allowed him to begin studying Mathematics at Trinity College in Cambridge competing amongst 1,400 applicants for the highly competitive course.

Lewis said: "I’ve had people asking me why I’m going to Cambridge, why am I putting myself through three years or more of higher education when I could go straight into a job,

“People genuinely think people like me should not go to this university because it’s so prestigious.

"There’s too much stigma that it’s really about the rich that discourages people from applying from disadvantaged backgrounds."

Professor Green praised said had succeeded because he had the remarkable drive as well as talent.

He said: "Lewis knew what he wanted from such a young age, and that’s not typical.

"He also benefitted from his family’s support as his mum kept all the stress away from him so he could focus on what he needed to do.”

Barton College Principal Jonathan Prest, added: “Lewis has done spectacularly well for himself since joining sixth form college.

"His secondary school was under-performing against national benchmarks and has subsequently been closed. Few students ever went to University from the school, let alone to Cambridge.

"At Barton Peveril College he was able to spread his wings, meet other students with similar ability and develop his ambitions.

"This is a real example of what bright, hard-working, single-minded people from any background can achieve."

Part one of the documentary aired on Channel Four on Thursday while part two will air at 9pm tomorrow.