ST LEONARDS

“A family friend recommended the school to me,” starts Maksym, who has been a boarder for three years. “It was a scary thought moving overseas from my family but as soon as I arrived, I made a friend from Cuba, and all the staff really helped me.”

“I didn’t really know what to expect living away from home, but I have settled in and I have been so happy here at St Leonards.”

Maksym’s initial stay was for three months, and three years on, he’s still able to call St Rule his home away from home.

“English is not something that I was able to study to such a high level in Ukraine. Now I can go all around the world and I can help my family with the language,” says Maksym.

“There are subjects I would not have been able to study, like Drama. I really enjoy studying it, learning about things like improvisation and playing different roles.”

Maksym has embraced the opportunities, both curricular and co-curricular, and his interests are certainly wide ranging.

“The teachers are really kind and supportive. I really enjoy the opportunities outside lesson time - I do rifle shooting club, dance and rugby after school.”

Living so far from home, in particular with the situation in Ukraine, has not been easy. “It can be hard to contact my parents back home in Kyiv as there is sometimes no electricity there, but the boarding staff do everything to help me call home whenever I can,” says Maksym.

Looking ahead, the 13-year-old is already making plans for the future. “I plan to stay here in the UK for university,” he says. “It’s too early to know what I want to study though!”

His friends back home, he tells us, think living and learning abroad is “cool”. “Not everybody has the choice to come to a boarding school in the UK. Everybody is really friendly and it’s important to have fun.”