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Poděbrady: Success of Ukrainian students. The entire English preparatory class admitted to university.

Everything bad can turn into something good. Last year's dramatic events changed the lives of many, but thanks to a generous donation from The Kellner Foundation, we were able to bring hope into the lives of 26 Ukrainian students. They and other students received their certificates at a recent closing ceremony at the end of the academic year at the Poděbrady study center.

Thanks to the Institute for Language and Preparatory Studies, the peaceful surroundings of the centre in the middle of the spa town became a second home and base for the Ukrainian students for a year, where they also found new friends. Had it not been for the war in Ukraine, most of them would probably never have entered the castle premises to study Czech and specialized subjects and prepare intensively for their university studies in the Czech Republic.

The students and their teachers enjoyed the certificate ceremony as a well-deserved reward after months of preparation. The celebration provided a small break to forget the stress of the exams that lie ahead of the students before they enter universities. An exception, however, were the participants of the English preparatory programme, as all 29 students of the English medical one-year programme had already been admitted to universities.

More than one hundred and twenty students were preparing for university studies in Poděbrady as part of the Czech one-year preparation programme, and their success rate in passing the Czech language exams was 79%. "You have decided to study abroad and you are taking all the necessary steps to do so, you are living in a different culture and you have learned a foreign language. This is a signal that obstacles and difficulties can be overcome," said the director Dana Hůlková Nývltová when opening the event.

A guitar performance by student Pavel Sytnyka, who played the song "Smells Like Teen Spirit" by Nirvana, added to the ceremony. The second student cultural performance was given by students Ekaterina Tepledtsova, Adelina Kischenko, Anastasia together with Viktoria Hnatyshko. The latter accompanied her friends on the ukulele during the rendition of Count on me by Bruno Mars.

All the students from Poděbrady worked as hard as they could, so choosing the best ones was not easy. The following students were rewarded for their excellent study results by the head of the centre Martin Melcer:

Many thanks to everyone who provided support and helped us open the door to a better tomorrow for these students.