Raising Successful Children and Preparing for Studying Abroad: My Experience

Communication and Development from the Earliest Years

I believe that a mother begins communicating with her child even during pregnancy. In my case, it was exactly like that: I listened to classical music together with my baby, read books to him, kept a diary and talked to him. After birth, I continued reading fairy tales and poems, paying attention to games and development. Gradually, Doman cards, construction sets and puzzles appeared, and along with them — an interest in knowledge, letters and numbers.

A Child’s Strengths and Weaknesses

Every child has their own talents, as well as strengths and weaknesses. For Kirill, it was mathematics and an excellent memory: he easily memorised poems, numbers and logical problems came more naturally to him, but at the same time he found it quite difficult to write dictations and essays/compositions.

Masha, on the contrary, found memorising poems more difficult, but overall she coped well with both mathematics and other subjects. Her special strength revealed itself in a different way: she wrote essays beautifully, was able to express her thoughts vividly and imaginatively, and showed persistence and strength of character.

Every child is unique: strengths help them раскрыться, while weaknesses teach them to overcome difficulties.

Sport and Hobbies in a Child’s Life

Both children were involved in various activities: swimming, football, tennis, ballet, chess, boxing, Lego clubs and theatre club. Each gradually developed their own interests — our son became passionately interested in birdwatching and kept an observation diary, while our daughter happily invented and wrote stories.

For us, it was important that the children tried as many different activities as possible. The broader the experience, the easier it is for a child to understand what is closer to them, and this choice can suggest a direction for future development.

Gadgets and Family Traditions

In our family, phones were given to the children only at weekends, while the tradition of reading was always preserved. Such simple rules helped the children stay focused on their studies, while at the same time maintaining an atmosphere of warmth and comfort.

First Steps in Studying Abroad

We contacted the StudyUA agency to select a school. It was important for us to minimise stress and give the children time to adapt, so we were not looking for the most academically demanding school, but rather a comfortable option to “gain momentum”.

The agency tested Kirill, assessed his strengths and weaknesses, and предложило several schools. He travelled, visited campuses, spoke with teachers and chose one. After successfully passing the entrance exam and interview, he was enrolled at Royal Russell School.

The adaptation was not easy, partly because his English was not perfect, despite studying in an English-focused class in Ukraine.

Later, Kirill was admitted to Concord College. According to him, this college became one of his favourite places of study: excellent teachers, an intensive programme that developed students comprehensively and prepared them for admission to the world’s leading universities. During his studies, Kirill twice participated in mathematics olympiads and received gold certificates. He founded the student club Finance, Accounting & Investment Society, and together with friends created the website Capital Compass, where articles on economics and finance were published, aimed at helping students prepare for exams as well as anyone interested in the field. At the same time, he completed internships, including Morgan Stanley Summer Academy, Finance, Professional Services and Consulting Intern roles, and an Investin investment banking internship, which became an important step before entering university.

A year after Kirill, Masha enrolled in Royal Russell School on the GCSE programme. Her adaptation was not easy: she experienced anxiety and stress, which coincided with adolescence. Gradually, with the support of her family and teachers, she gained confidence and was able to flourish.

After completing GCSE, Masha entered D’Overbroeck’s College in Oxford. This college became a turning point for her: here she met her favourite teachers, felt that she was in the right place, and was able to demonstrate her talents. During her studies, Masha participated in psychology and biology olympiads, mentored younger students and helped them with biology and psychology, founded a student psychology society and became a student ambassador. She completed numerous online courses in psychology and programming, and volunteered helping the homeless in Oxford. A significant milestone was her own research into framing bias in adolescent decision-making, which resulted in an article for the Capital Compass website. In this way, her research became a connecting link: psychology complemented economics and finance, making the project even more valuable for students.

A-level and the Price of Success

Both children completed A-level with the highest results — 4 A* each — while also undertaking internships. This became an important step on the path to university.

Behind these results stood enormous hard work. The final year of GCSE and especially the final year of A-level is a very demanding and responsible programme. The children consciously refused holiday trips in order not to lose a single day. Every day, both weekdays and weekends, they spent time in the library: according to them, it was there that the necessary atmosphere for focused work was created.

Once, when I came to visit Kirill during his final A-level year, the school administration met me and said: “Would you like us to show you your son’s favourite place?” They took me to the library, showed me a desk by the window, and added that this was where he spent all his days.

Masha’s birthday coincided with her A-level exams. We wanted to organise a family dinner, but she asked us not to: it was important for her to prepare as thoroughly as possible, and she said she would celebrate later, once the exams were over.

The high A-level results were the outcome of perseverance and daily work, becoming an important step towards university.

Universities and New Horizons

Kirill entered Imperial College London — one of the strongest universities in the world. He chose the Faculty of Economics, Finance and Data Science. This is a relatively new programme, and gaining admission is not easy. The admissions process was complex: in addition to a Personal Statement, an individual interview was required. Only after successfully passing the interview does a student gain access to an internal mathematics examination, and only upon passing it successfully is an offer made. In Kirill’s case, he received an offer with the condition of achieving an A* in A-level Mathematics (which he already had, having completed it in Year 12), as well as an A in Economics and an A in any other A-level subject.

The first months of study were not easy: he was surrounded by very strong students who could solve problems within minutes. Gradually, however, Kirill found his rhythm, began achieving strong results and moved forward confidently. He was elected Treasurer of the Imperial College Investment Society, obtained an internship at the investment bank Jefferies, and later was selected among five students for a paid summer internship at the same bank. Currently, alongside his studies, he works as an investment analyst in an investment fund and writes articles for the international platform Seeking Alpha.

Masha received several offers from leading universities and chose University College London, one of the strongest institutions in the world in the field of psychology. Her studies have not yet begun, but she is already undertaking two internships — at Expedia and at a Jamaican non-governmental organisation.

Faith and Parental Love

I am convinced that the greatest support parents can give a child is faith in them and love. Children are very sensitive to whether their parents speak and act sincerely.

In my view, love is not expressed in the desire to keep a child close for as long as possible, but in the ability to let them go at the right moment and trust their choices and interests. It was very difficult for me to let the children go abroad to study at 14, especially when my eldest son left for the first time. To say that it was hard would be an understatement. I saw him off at the airport in tears, and it was particularly difficult to realise that while other parents were taking their children to school with flowers on the first of September, I was sending my child into independent life.

Belief in your child is not empty words; it is a confidence they feel every day, even when the results are not always perfect. It is important for a child to hear: “I believe in you; you will definitely succeed.”

There is another important point: up to a certain age, children often cannot clearly decide who they want to become. Of course, some determine this early, but in most cases the choice happens in the senior years of school. That is precisely why programmes exist: first GCSE, where children try different subjects, then A-level, where more specialised focus begins. Even at university, perspectives can change — students take new modules and discover different directions. At this stage, it is important for parents not to apply pressure, but to support and give freedom to explore.

For example, during A-level, in addition to psychology and biology, Masha also chose economics and achieved an A* in her final exams. However, she realised that what truly interested her was psychology and biology. This experience made her choice conscious and confident.

And finally, a recommendation from our children. They believe that it is better to begin studying abroad at 13, although they themselves left at 14, despite the stress they experienced and our anxiety. Now they are convinced that taking this step at 13 is more appropriate, as it provides an additional “acceleration” year before GCSE. This year allows students to calmly try different subjects and choose those that suit them best. Our children had to choose earlier, and later regretted not choosing differently. Now we have a third child growing up, he is 8 years old, and the older siblings strongly advise preparing him to enter at 13 — and assure us that we will not regret it.