Moving to a foreign country and learning a new language can be particularly difficult while completing high school studies.
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Students at Five Islands Secondary College Khouloud Altinawi, Nasrin Auayoub and Alaa Abouzamer study English as a second language along with their other subjects. The year 12 students came to Australia with their families in 2014 to escape the conflict in Syria.
After spending more than a year working on her English, Khouloud found learning the language was a difficult but necessary first step to further her education.
“I visited my previous school and I found many people that came here, they have no English and I was telling them just learn English because you’ll find it hard later,” she said.
She found the college in Port Kembla an ideal environment to overcome any social or cultural challenges.
“The teachers here are so nice. They give everything they have,” she said.
“The students here welcome us. They smile and ask if we need any help.”
Khouloud hopes to study nursing after high school. “If I go to my country or I go to another country or stay here, I can help people,” she said.
Alaa has also flourished at Five Islands.
After leaving Syria, he spent two years with his family in Lebanon, working in a restaurant, unable to attend school.
When he arrived in Wollongong, he said it was difficult relating to the younger students at his first school.
“I actually tried other schools before,” he said. “I’m 20 now, I was the biggest one in school, so it was hard for me.
“I heard from friends about Five Islands and I just came to try it and I love it.”
As the eldest of six children, Nasrin also supported her family, working as a security guard in Iraq after initially leaving Syria.
“All my sisters are young and I need to work. The life there is hard and expensive. If you don’t work you can’t live there,” she said.
Nasrin said she is glad to now be studying in the friendly environment at Five Islands.
“That’s why we came here, we can find education and we can live in a peaceful environment,” she said.
Principal of Five Islands Secondary College Jenny Flowers said the students have come a long way under the guidance of the school.
“The college is all about building really positive relationships with our students,” Ms Flowers said.
In an effort to nurture social inclusiveness, the school takes a less traditional approach, with students calling teachers by their first names and not wearing uniforms.
Khouloud, Nasrin and Alaa said their message to students from all backgrounds is “don’t give up, try your best.”