Brighton College aims to help gifted pupils from deprived east London

Brighton College, in East Sussex, will take the three from Kingsford Community School, Newham, into its sixth form, using funding from HSBC bank.

Adam, 15, was stabbed to death in east London on Saturday.

Brighton College's head teacher, Richard Cairns, said the public school offered its "deepest sympathies".

'Lack of opportunities'

The two schools - which both teach Mandarin - have been exchanging visits and they are working together on staff training for languages, sharing ideas and sporting fixtures.

Horatio Georgestone, 16, Tosin Teriba, 16, and George Weller, 15, were chosen from 11 candidates in Adam's year and will take A-levels and board at the college, in Eastern Road, Brighton.

Mr Cairns said: "They are all very bright, they all want to do well in life and they are all desperate to have a fresh chance, an opportunity to learn away from the distractions of neighbourhood and family.

"Without more scholarship schemes like this, we face a future in which thousands of bright teenagers are frustrated by lack of opportunities and driven in to a way of life that they don't want."

The two schools developed links after both opted to make it compulsory for all new pupils to learn Mandarin.