It looks like a normal school. Outside children play football, chat and hurry back inside in time for lessons. However, it’s a Saturday, and these children are not following the national curriculum.
In 2022 Ukrainian families, mainly mothers with children, started to arrive in the UK due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. These children were scared. They had moved to another country with a different language and culture, and without their relatives, friends and pets. They needed special care and their own hub where they could communicate in their native language, make new friends and express emotions.
This is where the Ukrainian School Surrey came in. Seeing what their children needed, three Ukrainian mothers decided to create a school in Guildford to give the kids a sense of home.
Inna Haitan, Co-Founder and Deputy Head told SurreyLive: “The Ukrainian school first of all is a team of like minded volunteers, Ukrainian mothers, who came after the beginning of the Russian invasion. We decided to create a safe space for our kids where they will enjoy and learn.
Inna Hatian (left) told SurreyLive “We would like to unite Ukrainians”
(Image: Victoria Shipp)
“We decided to create a safe space for our kids where they will enjoy and learn. We would like to unite Ukrainians , To learn our past. To more understand our present, why Russians try to have our land.”
Opening at the start of 2023 more than 100 children have studied at the school learning Maths, Ukrainian Language and Literature, History and Geography. They also have the opportunity to keep Ukrainian culture alive by taking part in singing, drama and Horting (a Ukrainian martial art) classes.
The lessons are a vital safe space for the children. Mariia Haitian, age seven, told SurreyLive: “The times table and the multiple are different from the things that we do in the English schools and it’s different because we speak different languages and we are from different parts of Ukraine. You speak your own language and you can understand what everyone is saying.”
Mariia (Left) told SurreyLive: “You speak your own language and you can understand what everyone is saying
(Image: Victoria Shipp)
Similarly, Maksym Fedrirko, age nine, said: “This school is not like it’s not about learning, it’s more about chatting and making your knowledge better. I like history and maths. We are learning about 300 years of history in one lesson.”
There are a lot of Ukrainian children in Surrey.12 months after the Russian invasion began there were more than 3,000 refugees in Surrey, the second highest of of 152 council areas in England. The school currently has around 50 pupils but has taught more than 100.
The school recently moved to Church House at Christ Church, in Guildford, giving them more space to spread out. It is only getting bigger, having added French, and dancing to the curriculum.
Girls make friendship friendship bracelets together
(Image: Victoria Shipp)
It is clear the children enjoy their time here. Upstairs a group of girls make friendship bracelets together, while another group plays the keyboard. Drama classes are a hub of activity and in martial arts classes are fast paced and energetic.
But the teachers, many of whom are parents themselves, also get something out of the school. Olena Ogorodniychuk, a drama teacher said: “When the war started, there were a lot of the Ukrainian community here in England and these are primarily children,whom England sheltered from the war. The need for a Ukrainian space became air for us, it became life for us. I am a mother myself and all my activities are to preserve my child is a connection with his family, his roots. Language is the identifier of a nation. Parents and children are aware of their choice and study Ukrainian at our school.
“They have the opportunity to grow in the Ukrainian speaking space thanks to our school. The Ukrainian school became a necessity because our heart remained in our native land and our heart is in Ukraine, although England has become a second home for us. We thank you so much.”