"studying Russian was against my personal principle because I was born [in Donetsk] where the war started in 2014. It's not a language I want to speak or study because my father became a soldier last year."
"I am truly grateful for the opportunity to study in the United Kingdom it feels like my third home [after Ukraine and the Czech Republic, where she initially moved]. But not everyone realises how challenging it can be for Ukrainian students to adapt to a new education system, culture and language after everything our country has gone through."
"Rather than offering empathy or help, they continued to insist that I change subjects. No one tried to understand how painful this experience was for me, she said."
Kateryna Endeberia moved to Stoke-on-Trent after fleeing Ukraine in 2022 following the start of Russia's invasion. She sat GCSEs at The Excel Academy in 2023, completed a foundation year at City of Stoke-on-Trent Sixth Form College, and then studied economics, politics and statistics for one year. When she struggled with her A-level subjects, teachers urged her to switch to Russian, which she found deeply distressing because she was born in Donetsk and her father became a Ukrainian soldier. She left the college, now studies at home using friends' notes, and has applied to sit A-levels as a private candidate in 2026 at a cost of 1,400. She reports lack of extra support and bullying over her accent.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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