From 1981 to 1986 , Javid attended Downend School , a state comprehensive near Bristol . At school it was recommended that he should be a TV repairman . Javid has said he was told that he could n't study maths at O Level so he had to get his father to pay for it . When he later witnessed a video showing an assault on a Syrian refugee , he remarked that it was reminiscent of bullying he had experienced at school ; Javid claims he faced racial abuse when younger , being called a ' Paki ' , and having faced abuse from " National Front skinheads " . Speaking in 2014 , Javid said that while at school : " I was naughty , more interested in watching '' Grange Hill '' than homework " . After being told by his school that he could only study two A Levels when he believed he needed three to go to university , Javid subsequently attended Filton Technical College from 1986 to 1988 , and finally the University of Exeter from 1988 to 1991 . Javid is a trustee of the London Early Years Foundation , was a governor of Normand Croft Community School , and has led an expedition to the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro , the highest mountain in Africa , to show his support of Help the Aged
assault on a Syrian refugee
Almondbury Community School bullying incident
Sajid Javid