A Cheam resident with a history of success in academia, professional life and public service could be crowned one of Britain's highest achieving Asian women next Thursday.

Shahwar Sadeque, 60, of Park Road, is up for the social and humanitarian award at next Thursday's annual Asian Women of Achievement (AWA) event, presented by fellow Cheam success story, comedian Nina Wadia, at the Park Lane Hilton.

But despite a CV as long as most people's arms, the former Nonsuch High School physics teacher is scrupulously modest about the AWA judges' decision to short-list her.

She said: "I don't know what I've achieved. I've just been very fortunate."

What to her has been good fortune has taken her from a first degree at Dhaka university in her home country of East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) to a research masters in physics in London.

Following 10 years at Nonsuch, from 1974 to 1984, she took an MSc in IT at Kingston Polytechnic (now University), before spending seven years as a researcher there in artificial intelligence, among other things.

She is now director of two companies Art of Intelligence Ltd and TriEs Ltd which specialise in AI and education software respectively, while freelancing as an educational and ICT consultant.

Added to this is a 14-year career as a public servant, which started as a commissioner for the Commission for Racial Equality in 1989.

Since then, she has been the BBC's first Asian governor (1990 to 95) and sat on the School Curriculum and Assessment Authority (SCAA), during one of the most revolutionary periods in education policy.

And she currently sits on VAT appeal tribunals and the Royal College of Physician's committee on medical ethics in medicine and is also a special representative of the Foreign Secretary.

Within this high-flying schedule, she also finds time to look after a nonagenarian friend.

Mrs Sadeque paid tribute to her mother Akhtar Imam and husband Pharhad's roles in her success.

She said the AWA awards were important as celebrations of success and as an inspiration to younger Asian women.

Mrs Sadeque added: "It goes to show the mainstream that Asian women are achieving."

April 29, 2003 10:00