Escaping the front-line of war has brought Petr a brighter future

International Students Series

There are various reasons why families opt to send their children across the world for education, but in the case of Longridge Sixth Form student Petr the choice was pretty stark: stay and fight in a war, or finish your education in the safety of the north of England.

“Yeah,” says Petr. “If I wasn’t here then I’d probably be on the front-line fighting for Russia against Ukraine. So, I know where I’d rather be.”

It is an incredibly sobering thought, and one most of us cannot begin to get our heads around. BBC research last year reported that close to 3,000 soldiers aged 18-20 were believed to have been killed in action since the war began in 2022. Petr explains the reality he faced with a shrug of the shoulders, accepting what his life had become in the way only a teenager can – “it is what it is.”

“In Russia, when you turn 16 you go through some medical examinations in order to appear on the conscription register,” he explains, “and you do it again at 17 and when you turn 18 you get conscripted into the army for two years.

“Normally, that might not be a big deal but now that the Russia-Ukraine war is going on, my parents knew that when I turned 18 I would receive a letter and have to commit to the military for two years, and so would probably have to fight. You are forced to go to the front.

“My mother and stepfather decided that I needed to come to the UK, and we were very pleased when Longridge offered me a place in February, 2024. I am 18 now and my life is very different to what it would have been if I’d stayed in Moscow.”

Russian soldiers prepare to play their part in the war with Ukraine with many having been conscripted straight from school – nearly 3,000 solders aged 18-20 were last year reported to have been killed since the war began.

Petr’s parents had already divorced, and he now lives with his mother and British step-father in Northumberland. So taken is he with his new life here he was sporting one of his favourite tops on a recent ‘Non-Uniform Day’ celebrating sustainability – an England rugby shirt.

“Longridge and England have been my refuge,” he said. “It has been very difficult to leave my friends and sisters in Russia and not have so much contact now, but I know it is much better for me and my life to be here.

“It is very different to what I grew up with in Moscow. It has more than 13 million population and I think Berwick is like 13,000, so, yeah, massive difference. But you feel safe here.

“I also feel relieved; it’s nice and quiet. Moscow is always so loud and hustle and bustle, and just chaotic. Here you can just be with your own thoughts, with yourself in peace. Longridge is unique, I think, and a valuable experience for me and for my future.”

Longridge has the River Tweed running close by and Moscow (above) has the Moskva running through it, but that is about as far as any comparison might go between Berwick and Petr’s home city of Moscow

Being accepted as an immigrant has helped

Petr admits that it took time for him to adapt to his new surroundings and learn English 24/7, outside of purely classroom lessons. He particularly enjoys studying psychology and sociology, and is politically aware, and so admits to harbouring some concern over how he might be welcomed in the UK. But he has experienced no ill-feeling and has settled into the north of England in the past two years.

“Everything in your whole environment just changes at that moment you move, so it takes time to get used to,” he continued.

“But my experience is that people here just accept you and don’t really care where you have come from. They don’t focus on your nationality or your background, and just accept you as a person, and that has made it easier for us.

“But being an immigrant is not, I think, simple. I am looking at what I do now and I think I will go to university in Scotland because the fees for international students are much lower than in England, and my family have already spent a lot of money for my education.

“I can’t go straight into work because I would have to switch from a student visa to a skilled worker visa, and it is impossible for me to get that. So, I don’t have many options. But I have visited a few universities and I liked them.”

International students Jerry, Petr and Mark have come from very different backgrounds but they have found common goals in education at Longridge

‘People are happier here than in Moscow’

For Petr, the choice of whether to stay in his home country or leave for an education in the UK was a stark one, and no choice at all. But how does he now feel about the life transformation he has experienced and what the future holds?

“Well, do you know something?” he asks, with a contemplative expression more expected of a wise old sage.

“One thing I notice here more is that people are happier. Comparing Longridge to my old school in Russia, it’s a massive difference because in Russian state schools, teachers do not seem to be happy in their job.

“Here is the opposite. The teachers have passion for teaching and helping you as a person, and students support each other. Teachers have an individual approach for everyone and deliver the information in a unique, varied way, I think, so lessons can be different every day. It’s not like that in Moscow.

“Teachers here do different things to help you learn, like quizzes, letting pupils do presentations or work it out ourselves, which is really nice, and you can see that they are happy, which makes me happy.”

He concluded: “I know it has not been easy for my parents to pay for me to study here, but from my eyes it’s worth it because it has given me a new life and a much brighter future.”