A Plaistow school is aiming to raise £44,000 to send a bright pupil to a top independent school after she narrowly missed out on a scholarship offer.
Kira Maiberg impressed tutors at the £22,000-a-year Highgate School, but was not offered one of the four bursary places on offer to study her A-levels there.
Her parents, both from Lithuania, are on a low income and cannot afford the fees so teachers at The Cumberland School have stepped in to try to raise the cash.
The 15-year-old said she was crushed when she was told she had not won a place particularly as five of her peers at Cumberland were offered scholarship places thanks to the school's mentoring programme.
Two will be heading to King's College, Wimbledon, while the Oban Close school will be sending one pupil to each of Eton, Bancroft's School in Woodford Green and University College School, Hampstead.
Kira said: "It was heartbreaking, particularly as a lot of my friends were celebrating because they had got in.
"Highgate said they were very impressed with me but they only had a few places to offer.
"When I found out my school were trying to help raise the money to get in, I burst into tears. It means so much to know how much they care and want to help me.
"My mum cannot believe that I have even had this opportunity. She comes from a very poor background in Lithuania and these opportunities are beyond her wildest dreams."
Her mentor, Cumberland assistant headteacher Amy Brown, started the crowdfunding page as she wanted to find a way for Kira to study at the north London school.
She said: "Kira is an exceptionally bright young woman who works so, so hard on our scholarship scheme.
"Highgate were very impressed with her but she narrowly missed out.
"Everyone at the school was heartbroken for her and we all decided we need to help. We will do everything we can to try and make her dream a reality."
To support Kira visit gofundme.com/f/fundraise-scholarship-for-bright-student
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