Cara Delevingne's Support Wasn't Enough To Save This Student From Being Deported

The supermodel helped 19-year-old Yashika Bageerathi gain widespread support - but she ultimately lost her battle

Cara Delevingne tweets support for student facing deportation
Cara Delevingne tweets support for student facing deportation
(Image credit: Rex)

The supermodel helped 19-year-old Yashika Bageerathi gain widespread support - but she ultimately lost her battle

Cara Delevingne first helped to shed some light on 19-year-old student Yashika Bageerathi's plight when she tweeted her support last month.

The 21-year-old model took to Twitter to raise awareness and help save Yashika from being deported back to her home country of Mauritius without her family.

After Cara got involved, the case became a hot topic nationwide - and more than 175,000 people signed an online petition calling for her freedom.

But on Wednesday, a High Court judge refused her appeal to remain in the country. She was sent home, scared and alone, on a 21:00 flight out of Heathrow.

Yashika Bageerathi, student facing deportation

Yashika Bageerathi, student facing deportation
(Image credit: ITV Daybreak)

Lynne Dawes, the principal at Yashika's school, spoke to the BBC about the news. 'I just cannot believe they would send her back six weeks from her exams,' she said. 'Why can't there just be some compassion and humanity to allow her to stay and do those A-Levels?

'I know there are laws but I just cannot get why, in effect, what is a few more months. It wouldn't hurt anyone over here, but it would make such a massive difference to her life.'

The case has certainly captured the country's attention and sparked some divisive opinions. Let us know what you think in the comments below.

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Ali Gray is an award-winning content director and digital strategist. Most recently she was the Director of Branded Content at Hearst, and helped to bridge the gap between the editorial and commercial worlds working across all Hearst brands, including ELLE, Cosmopolitan, Esquire and Harper's Bazaar. Prior to that she worked as an editor contributing to several brands such as The Telegraph, iVillage UK.