The family of Yousef Makki has launched a charity in his name on the third anniversary of his tragic death.
Yousef, a talented bursary student at the elite Manchester Grammar School from Burnage, was just 17 when he was fatally stabbed by his friend Joshua Molnar in Hale Barns.
Molnar, a former public schoolboy from a wealthy Hale family, was acquitted of Yousef's murder.
Today, on the day that marks three years since Yousef's death on March 2, 2019, his family has launched the Yousef Makki Foundation.
READ MORE: Yousef Makki's family call for judicial review to overturn coroner's verdict
They said that although 'each year is as difficult as the last', they wanted to create something in his legacy to help other people.
The foundation will provide educational hardship funds for young people with 'similarly disadvantaged background to Yousef'.
Once an initial £10,000 has been raised, the funds will help 'dozens of young people' in and around Greater Manchester to 'excel in their educational endeavours'.
A statement issued by Yousef's family said: "As many know, despite being from humble beginnings, Yousef was lucky enough to attend Manchester Grammar School on a full bursary scholarship and wished to become a heart surgeon after university.
"We recognise that not every young person can access such an opportunity, and this was something that Yousef remained acutely aware of as a young man from a distinctly working-class background.
"Yousef wanted to help his community and encourage others, no matter what background they came from to be the best possible version of themselves they could be - and it is this energy that we have chosen to harness and apply to the creation of the Yousef Makki Foundation, today."
It added: "Despite the tragedy our family have faced, we believe that Yousef would have wanted us to do something positive in his name and we remain eternally grateful to his many supporters for their support of the Foundation and for their donations to support the next generation of Yousef Makkis."
After Yousef's death, a jury acquitted Molnar, now 20, of murder and manslaughter, although he was handed a 16-month detention and training order after admitting possessing the knife which inflicted the fatal injury and lying to police at the scene.
He says he acted in self-defence, alleging Yousef pushed and punched him and called him 'p*ssy'.
His co-defendant at the 2019 trial Adam Chowdhary, also 17 at the time but now 19, from Hale Barns, who described Yousef as his 'best friend' at MGS, was acquitted of perverting the course of justice.
He was given a four-month detention order after admitting possession of a flick knife, one of two he claimed he and Yousef had jointly ordered during a break from lessons at MGS.
An inquest into the teenager's death was held in November last year.
Senior South Manchester Coroner Ms Mutch recorded a narrative conclusion, saying: "Yousef died from complications of a stab wound to chest.
"The precise circumstances in which he was wounded cannot, on balance of probabilities, be ascertained."
Yousef's family have since issued a formal application for a judicial review, which argues the coroner's ruling was 'unreasonable' as it 'failed to address or make findings on central matters in the case such as to enable her to reach a conclusion - on the balance of probabilities - as to the lawfulness of the killing'.
For more information on the Yousef Makki Foundation, click here.
