The Bulgarian school in Southampton, Great Britain, bears the name of the ‎Bulgarian 19th century revolutionary Vasil Levski who dedicated himself ‎to the liberation of his Motherland from the Ottoman oppression. 

As the patron of our school, the image of Vasil Levski is present all year ‎round in our events, says the school principal Teodora Ivanova. In order ‎to get a different - "foreign" look at the deed of this Bulgarian hero, the ‎students participated in a lesson dedicated to the book "The Apostle of ‎Freedom" by the British writer Mercia MacDermott. 

"They understood that ‎not only we, the Bulgarians, see the Apostle as a hero, but also people ‎from other countries who visited Bulgaria and got to know his life, were ‎impressed and subsequently wrote great words about him", adds the ‎director.‎

And since the school turns every Bulgarian holiday or anniversary into an ‎occasion for the children to deepen their knowledge of the most revered ‎Bulgarian hero, they build their own idea of his personality:‎

‎"Young children study about Levski through fairy tales and legends, and then an ‎image of a very brave hero is formed in their minds," says Teodora ‎Ivanova. „Subsequently, when they get acquainted with his life through ‎the history of Bulgaria, it turns out that this initially constructed image is ‎absolutely realistic. But the most interesting thing is that over the years ‎they build on it. Thus, older children are impressed by the self-sacrifice he ‎made for his country, by his ideals and words.."‎

The Bulgarian school in Southampton was founded in 2014 on the ‎initiative of parents who wanted their children to speak and write in their ‎mother tongue and know their roots. Every week, 140 students learn ‎Bulgarian, history, traditions in private classes with the help of 14 ‎teachers.‎

‎"By coming to us, the children don't just learn the language”, says the ‎school principal. “They create friendships, get to know the lifestyle and ‎culture of the Bulgarian people. We offer them both the curriculum of the ‎Ministry of Education and extracurricular activities. We have two folk ‎dance clubs, the "Rodinoznaiko" club where students learn about ‎Bulgarian traditions and customs, and another one for language tasks ‎related to Bulgarian literature."‎

Unfortunately, there are children in the school who have difficulty ‎speaking their mother tongue.‎

‎"Most of the children who come to us were already born in Great Britain”,  ‎adds Teodora Ivanova.  “They spend most of their time in an English ‎school where they make friends and communicate mainly in English. Of ‎course, the parents try to bring the Bulgarian language into the family - ‎they speak, they read books in Bulgaria. We ourselves have an initiative ‎for the children to exchange books bought by the school in order to ‎stimulate them in this direction. Over time, they improve the language ‎quite a bit, but, unfortunately, the environment prevails and the English ‎accent can be felt in their speech.”‎

A remarkable fact, according to Teodora Ivanova, is the empathy of the ‎parents. In addition to organizing bazaars and various activities, they are ‎always ready to help make the school an attractive place for children. 

"We ‎are all part of one team, and this is very positive for the development of ‎the entire Bulgarian community in the city," says the school principal.

‎"At the beginning of the school year, one of the parents made and gave us ‎a sign with Levski's face. We placed it in the courtyard of ‎the English school, whose building we use every Saturday. We found out ‎from one of our students, who studies at this school, that his teacher told ‎the children who this Bulgarian hero was. So the name of Levski is starting ‎to be recognized not only by the Bulgarian children in the school", explains Teodora Ivanova in an interview for Radio Bulgaria.