Ukrainian students who earned English diploma after arriving in Bedford to be celebrated at awards ceremony

An award ceremony for Ukrainian students will take place in Bedford tomorrow (December 8).

Since arriving in Bedfordshire, mostly Ukrainian guests expressed their desire and readiness to learn English.

Mags Brady, CEO of PBIC – a charity that helps migrants settle, achieve and contribute – brought up the idea of them taking English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) courses.

And Karike de Klerk, Head of Adult English, Maths and ESOL at Bedford College agreed organise the special unplanned summer ESOL course for more than 80 attendees with different levels of knowledge of English.

Now, 69 Ukrainian students who successfully completed the course will receive their diplomas at a ceremony.

PBIC services are free of charge and delivered mostly by multilingual volunteers, advisors, and teachers. Since April 2022 PBIC has been working closely with The Harpur Trust and Bedford Borough Council to coordinate care and support for Ukrainian guests arriving in Bedford.