Valeriia Muliar and Kateryna Kedyk say they hope to stay in the Highlands, having found a warm welcome at Kingussie High School.
There was barely a dry eye in the chamber, as the 15-year-old girls shared their story with members of Highland Council’s education committee this week.
Joined by Kingussie head teacher Ian Adamson, the pupils spoke not only of what they had left behind in Ukraine, but of what they have discovered here Scotland.
Ian described a journey of learning from each other, and shared his pride in the whole school and community.
A friendly face for new Ukrainian pupils
Kingussie High School was just two days back from the summer holidays when they discovered they had up to 30 new Ukrainian pupils about to enrol.
Preparing for 30 pupils with English as a second language is a challenge for any school. More so for a small secondary like Kingussie, which has a total roll of 390.
Having initially sent out the standard school enrolment form, Ian quickly realised that the language barrier made the task impossible.
“We went back to the drawing board, and that’s when we decided to do our first outreach session,” he recalls.
The Ukrainian families were staying at Coylumbridge Hotel and Aviemore resort. Kingussie high worked with Aviemore primary school and together they visited the families in person.
With the help of S6 pupil Stacy as translator, they quickly became familiar and friendly faces to the new arrivals.
Ian adapted the intake form to capture not only the basic information required, but also information about any trauma the pupils had experienced, and their level of English.
‘All the time we are learning from each other’
With just one week to make the necessary preparations, the whole school community sprung into action.
Teachers added Ukrainian signage around the school, shared trauma-informed practice, learned Ukrainian welcome phrases and even found custom stickers for pupils’ chrome books.
They gave out school uniforms and fully stocked pencil cases, then organised a series of visits to see the school in action.
“Starting any new school is an exciting and nerve-racking experience,” says Ian. “But doing so under the circumstances these children were experiencing was huge. We understood that.
“The priority for every parent is that you want your child to be accepted and for people to be kind to them. As head teacher, I had that worry as well. We were taking in up to 30 people from a different culture – how was it going to be? But I needn’t have worried.”
The school organised an assembly to give Kingussie pupils the ‘bigger picture’ of the Ukraine conflict. After that, Ian says they were “inundated” with pupils and staff wanting to help out.
“It was amazing to see everyone come together,” says Ian.
He recalls seeing pupils chat together on their first day, exchanging stories comparing school life in Scotland with Ukraine. “All the time we are learning from each other,” he says.
First day jitters
Both Valeriia and Kateryna have fond memories of that first day.
“The first day was really nervous because we had to meet a lot of new pupils and teachers,” says Valeriia. “The pupils were so kind to all of us; everyone tried to help if we didn’t know something. The teachers were also very friendly and nice, and doing their best to make us feel more confident.”
Kateryna says the whole school made them feel welcome. “Thanks to them I adapted fast and easily and I now feel confident in school,” she says.
This kindness has been a hallmark of Kateryna’s experience in Scotland. She recalls arriving at Edinburgh Airport and being welcomed by volunteers, who gave her younger siblings hand-knitted teddy bears in the colours of Ukraine.
Both families were given accommodation in the Coylumbridge Hotel, Aviemore. Valeriia admits it can be difficult sharing a room with your whole family – “we do get on each others nerves” – but they have quickly adapted.
The girls also say that while the language barrier was difficult to begin with, being immersed in English rapidly improved their fluency.
At the end of their presentation to the education committee, councillor Sarah Fanet was visibly moved. English is Ms Fanet’s second language too, and she told the pupils:
“There is no way at your age I could stand in this room and do what you just did. I’m absolutely impressed and you should be so proud.”
Exploring Kingussie culture – and a taste of Ukraine
Valeriia and Kateryna both speak fluent English and have excelled at school so far. Ian explains that Ukrainian pupils generally study a whopping 16 or 17 subjects in their senior years, so one difficulty was convincing parents that six subjects is enough!
Valeriia drew impressed laughter when she casually told councillors she is “confident to pass all my exams”. Meanwhile, Kateryna says she enjoys all her subjects – except maths.
Interestingly, both pupils say they hope to stay in Scotland and go to university here. “I’d love to go back to Ukraine but there are much more opportunities here to make my future career better,” says Valeriia. “I enjoy this country very much.”
And it’s little wonder, given the impressive range of activities the community has to offer. Ian outlines a varied social programme, including bike trails, crazy golf, a youth club and ceilidhs, to name a few.
Local people kindly donated bikes to refurbish and give to students, and the school took out a corporate High Life Highland membership to help them access local sports and get out of the hotel.
The girls were even introduced to local favourites such as shinty, and the music of Peat and Diesel!
At the same time, they enjoyed a taste of home, with their parents using the school’s home economics classroom to whip up some Ukrainian meals.
Kateryna says she loved the “breath-taking downhills” on the bike rides, and both girls are really excited about a forthcoming Highland ceilidh.
‘They’re not refugees, they’re pupils’
At the heart of this varied programme is a commitment to help students from Ukraine to integrate with the Kingussie community.
Kingussie High School has a CARE ethos – standing for community, attitude, respect and effort – and this shines through in their approach.
“I intentionally don’t use the word ‘refugee’ because I don’t see them as refugees,” says Ian. “I see them as Kingussie High School pupils, and we’re committed to do everything we can to help them achieve their potential and move forward.
“These young people – these children – have shown a huge amount of resilience and courage. Every day makes me feel lucky for what my children have.”
His words prompted local councillor Muriel Cockburn to comment “It’s been a long time since a head teacher made me cry.”
But the last words went to Kateryna, who paid tribute to the Highland spirit.
“It was very hard to leave my friends at Ukraine,” she said. “I wish my best friend was here, but she’s not.
“When you’re away from your home, it’s very important to be in a place where you feel welcomed. I want to say thank you very much for making me feel at home.”
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