Ke's mother, 49, used to work in a loss-making textile factory but retired two years ago and now lives on her monthly pension of 560 yuan ($68). Her father Ke Laifa, 53, was laid off from his State-owned company at the end of 1998 and has since been in receipt of a monthly allowance of 270 yuan ($33).

"You wouldn't think a family like ours could send their daughter abroad," said Ke's father.

Making ends meet

Ke grew up with her parents in Putuo District, all three of them occupying one 13.4-square-metre room.

Her parents still live in the same room in a shabby old building which has no toilet and where the kitchen is shared with two other families. They have decorated the walls of their room with a map of Britain, where their daughter is studying, and two large pictures of Ke Qing with her schoolmates and teachers.

Ke Qing is now living in London where she works 10 hours a day to save money so she can take up a degree place in Business Administration she has been offered by Leeds University.

Ke, a 21-year-old local girl, was enrolled in Cambridge Tutors College (CTC), England, two years ago.

Her parents borrowed money and donated all their savings to help support her in her studies but it was not enough. In order to finish at CTC, Ke also had to borrow money from Chinese students on her course.

Chance meeting

Ke's uncle, a university graduate, met and befriended a British tourist at the Shanghai Library in 1990. The tourist, an English vicar whose name was Jeff Whittington, soon became friends with the rest of Ke's family and was invited to her parent's home.

Whittington has visited Shanghai several times since and on every occasion has been to see Ke and her family. The more he got to know Ke Qing, the more impressed he was with her natural intelligence and excellent spoken English. He told Ke if she ever wanted to study in Britain, he would be happy to help out in any way possible.

It was then that the seed was planted in Ke's mind, and soon she was adamant that she wanted to study overseas. Her parents went to the first British Education Fair held in late 1996 in the city and made some inquiries about CTC, a private school that mainly prepares foreign students for degree courses.

Ke passed the college's entrance exam and was accepted by the school after several interviews, along with two other Shanghai students.

After two trips to the British Embassy in Beijing, Ke was finally granted a visa. Ke Qing's parents knew the college's tuition fees were very high, but their daughter had passed all the tests and so they made up their minds to send her there anyway.

"Maths Queen"

In January 1998, Ke left Shanghai for England, then in her last year of senior middle school.

Her excellent academic performance there soon won her a small scholarship and her classmates gave her the nickname "Maths Queen."

Annual tuition fees at CTC were over 6,000 pounds ($9,060) and monthly living cost her around 350 pounds ($528).

"We gave her all our savings and borrowed money from whoever lent us," said Ke's father. "But still we failed to meet the high costs of Britain."

Half a year later, the money was running out. "But our daughter was stubborn, she swore to stay on in Britain to finish her studies," said Ke's mother.

With help from her classmates, Ke was able to finish the semester at CTC. In June 1998, she came back to Shanghai for one and half months. But her parents had no more money for her.

"We were so sorry," said Ke's mother. "In fact the family had already been drained empty of money."

Tough times

Ke returned to London, but changed to a cheaper school which charged 4,000 pounds ($6,040) a year.

Wasting no time, she found herself a job working 14 hours a week. First, she became a busy table cleaner at McDonald's. Very soon, the "Maths Queen" was promoted to the front counter to work as a cashier.

The job was not easy for her. Sometimes British kids would throw their rubbish at Ke, a foreigner, and the only Chinese member of staff in the restaurant. When her boss was around, he would stop the boys.

Hardworking Ke soon won the boss' favour, but this incurred the jealousy of other staff. Her locker was forced open and a set of complete new Chinese RMB yuan and some British currency were stolen. The police were called in but they never discovered the culprit.

Later, Ke got a new job in a Chinese restaurant owned by a Hong Kong boss who soon promoted her to cashier. But the 30-something Hong Kong manager began to harass her in the boss' absence. When she rejected his approaches, he began to treat her meanly and find fault with her. The situation became so bad she finally had to quit the job.

But in September 1999 came the happy news that Ke had been accepted by Leeds University. Unfortunately, however, the more than 6,000 pounds ($9,060) annual tuition fees were once again beyond her means.

She asked the university to defer her entry in order that she could earn the required money and they agreed.

Now Ke works a five-day week, four hours at a bank in the morning and six hours at a Chinese takeaway in the afternoons. At the bank, Ke was once again quickly promoted from a cleaner to a front desk cashier. She now earns 1,000 pounds ($1,510) a month.

Her student visa has been renewed twice. To save money, she has moved apartment several times and she does some cleaning for which the landlord deducts 50 pounds ($75) from her rent in return. She has worked many odd jobs, including house-sitting for a friend's family over the summer, which also saved on rent.

Whittington, the British vicar and friend of her uncle's, sometimes invites Ke to his countryside home in Lancing, West Sussex. She enjoys staying there very much, spending time with the Whittingtons and their grandchildren.

Proud parents

Ke's parents mail her money whenever they can; over the past two years they have managed to save about 1,000 pounds ($1,510) for her by doing odd jobs.

"Sometimes we really feel miserable that we can't be much help to our daughter," said Ke's mother. "But our hearts are always with her."

Ke Qing has five cousins, all boys on her father's side. "But our daughter is the most brilliant and the most promising of them all," said Ke's father.

"When in Shanghai, she was always the top student in her class," said Ke's father. "And she was always an optimistic and independent girl of strong will."

Ke Qing has not yet saved enough to cover her tuition for Leeds University and she will probably work for one more year before taking up her place.

Ke's parents said their daughter is determined to complete her three-year bachelor's degree; and then she wants to obtain a master's, also in Britain.

After that, she will definitely return home.

When her parents are overcome with longing to see their daughter, they watch footage they have of her taking part in a knowledge quiz at Oriental TV. Ke won first prize in the contest.

They surround themselves with her photos and think of her all the time.

Ke's mother even started taking evening classes in English and computers so she could be closer to her daughter. Now they exchange emails in English and Ke phones home every Chinese New Year's Eve.

Ke Qing will enjoy two weeks paid holiday this year. She has already booked tickets home and is scheduled to return on October 1 this year, National Day. The following day is her birthday.

"We are counting the days and are so excited as the close of each day brings us closer to our daughter," said Ke's mother.

"We are always happy and optimistic because we see such hope in our daughter who makes us so proud," said Ke's father.