The story of this brother and sister began when, being close in age, they arrived in the United Kingdom together and started their education within the British system, spending four years here each. They did not enter the same year group: the older brother started in Year 10, yet in practice both completed almost their entire senior school education in the UK — first the GCSE programme, followed by A-Levels. I was fortunate to be their guardian throughout this entire period, and from the very beginning it was clear how differently they each developed academically and personally.

The brother stood out immediately. Already in Years 10–11, he was achieving exceptionally high grades and demonstrated a remarkable level of maturity for his age: he clearly understood what he wanted, where he was heading, and what he was working towards. He completed his GCSEs with outstanding results, but in my experience, not all students who leave GCSEs with grades “8” and “9” go on to achieve the same level of success at A-Level. Kirill, however, went even further and was accepted into one of the most prestigious and highly ranked schools in the UK — Concord College. There, he chose an exceptionally demanding subject combination: Mathematics, Further Mathematics, Economics, and Physics. Physics was initially included “just in case” — as a backup option, should he later decide to drop it and focus on three core subjects. Very quickly, however, it became clear that he was coping successfully with all four, and at a very high level. His goal was to become a financier, and he was prepared to work without compromise to achieve it.

One particular moment during a parents’ meeting left a strong impression on me. I very much wanted to meet Kirill in person, as we had not seen each other for almost a year after Year 11. However, he declined — extremely politely and respectfully — explaining that he had scheduled study time in the library and could not deviate from his plan. This response spoke volumes about his seriousness and his ability to keep his word.

Teachers spoke about him with particular respect. His Economics teacher, who also examines papers for Oxford and Cambridge, said quite directly: “This student is made for Cambridge.” This referred not only to his subject knowledge, but also to his inner character, determination, and maturity — qualities that are extremely rare even among strong students. Most striking of all was the teacher’s remark that Kirill answers questions exactly in the way examiners expect when assessing applicants to top universities. In all his years of experience, he had never heard a student described in such terms.

The results confirmed everything that had been said. Kirill graduated from Concord College with outstanding results, achieving A* grades in all subjects, and took an impressive next step — gaining admission to Imperial College, one of the strongest universities in the United Kingdom.

Masha, Kirill’s sister, did not immediately show herself as one of the most successful students. BUT, whether she simply matured later or was influenced by her brother, in the second half of Year 11 she moved forward with incredible speed and never stopped! Masha chose one of the most challenging A-level subjects — Biology — and successfully achieved a high grade.

Her entire A-level journey was filled with fantastic praise from teachers at parents’ evenings. And only Masha knows what stood behind all of that: hours and hours of independent study, giving up empty distractions, consistently diving deeply into the material, endless revision — during holidays, breaks and weekends.

Masha also gained admission to her dream university and now tutors students in Biology.