A star student at one of Britain's top comprehensive schools has been found hanged in her home.

Xiang Yin Teng, 17, who came to Britain from China a year ago, was the daughter of two successful academics.

She was an A-grade pupil in all her studies and was expected to go on to have a successful university career.

Her friends and teachers at Durham Johnston School, Durham, were stunned to be told of her death.

The teenager, who was known to her friends as Sho Lee, was not thought to have been suffering any problems at school and appeared to be in good spirits.

She returned from school on Tuesday as usual but was found hanged in an upstairs room at 6pm by her mother, Jianping Xiang.

Sho Lee's father flew to Durham from China, where he is a university lecturer, yesterday.

The couple were grieving the loss of their only child at their terraced house in the Crossgate Moor area of Durham.

Jianping Xiang, known as Beth, is a senior research assistant in Durham University's School of Engineering.

Richard Bloodworth, head of Durham Johnston school, described Sho Lee as one of his star pupils.

The school attracts the best students from the Durham area due to its consistently high ranking in league tables.

In 1998, it became the first state school to make it into the country's top 100.

Mr Bloodworth said: "There is a feeling of tremendous shock and distress among Sho Lee's friends and teachers.

"She came to us a year ago with very little English, having been brought up in China.

"She picked up the language very quickly and was a very able student - she was one of our star pupils.

"She was expected to get A grades at A-level in all her subjects - maths, further maths, physics and chemistry.

"Although she was in the lower sixth and had not started thinking too far ahead, we expected her to go on to have a successful university career.

"As a person, she was popular with other students and a very gregarious, warm girl.

"There is nothing, as far as anyone here can tell, to suggest she was unhappy about anything.

"It came a complete and terrible shock to everyone who knew her and we are very, very sad at present.

"I addressed the sixth form when we heard the news and, of course, people were extremely upset."