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A lesson at the Friedrich-Ebert-School in Schwalbach am Taunus.
Ostap Khaliuk has been attending classes here for almost a year.
Until then, the 14-year-old lived in Kiev.
On March 6, almost two weeks after the start of the war, Ostap and his mother left the Ukrainian capital.
Ostap Khaliuk, student:
»First my mother said that we will stay in Kiev, but after four days the situation was already very bad, and my mother decided to take the train.
We didn't know exactly where the train was going, but we knew it was going west."
Maryna Khaliuk, Ostap's mother:
»In the beginning we didn't even know where to go – the main thing was to get to the train and get out of Kiev.
It was like going nowhere, we didn't know where to go.«
They arrived in the small town near Frankfurt am Main on March 13 via Poland and Slovakia.
Ostap came to an intensive class to improve his German language skills.
His lessons are now held entirely in German, and he also takes part in regular classes at the same time.
Roland Glotzbach, teacher:
»He is very willing to learn, totally enthusiastic about everything you do.
And I can see that he also has the opportunity here, if he stays here in Germany for the time being, to get a good school certificate at least at Realschule level, if not even at Gymnasium level.
Well, the integration on the labor market is very good at Ostap.
In general, the children who have come here now are actually so far along that you can say they will be an asset to the German job market.«
That's why Ostap's mother no longer wants to return to Ukraine.
Maryna, Ostap's mother:
»You read the news and see that the situation is not improving.
You start to notice the better things around us in Germany.
Here I noticed that Ostap can go to school and he does it well.
He has a lot of friends.
He has many opportunities, not only for study, but also for social life.
That's why I had the feeling that I could and wanted to stay here.
The reason is my son.«
She herself takes language courses and then wants to return to her job as a graphic designer – if her qualifications from Ukraine are recognised.
And Ostap?
He already has very clear ideas about what his next few years in Germany should look like – in any case, he has no lack of ambitious goals.
Ostap Khaliuk, student:
»For my future, I plan to do my Abitur and go to university in Germany and work as a programmer or AI engineer.
I'm already used to Germany, it's like a second home for me now, and I want to stay in Germany my whole life.«