With the start of September, students all over Poland rushed to school. Similarly, the school year
began in the UK, where Polish schools such as Saturday Schools run by the Polish Educational
Society (Polska Macierz Szkolna) provide young people of Polish descent with the opportunity to
acquaint themselves with history and language of their parents' homeland.

The history of the Polish Educational Society dates back as far as World War II and today the
institution has some hundred schools under its patronage, offering education as well as organizing
quizzes on Poland, publishing periodicals, running bookshops and preparing teaching aids for
Polish students and teachers. Naturally, Saturday Schools give extra-curricular classes that
complement the British curriculum. They teach Polish language, history, geography, singing,
religion and folk dances.

There is also a Polish school in London functioning under the auspices of the Polish Embassy.
Similarly to Saturday Schools, it offers extra-curricular education.

In most cases, Polish schools are founded on the initiative of teachers and parents who are
determined to set up a school despite all the formalities they need to go through. Invaluable help
comes from British teaching establishments which usually lease rooms to Polish schools and from
parents who support them financially.

Preschoolers also have the chance to learn Polish language. Parents who wish their children to have
contact with their mother tongue can enroll them in Polish nursery school. Such places, intended
for children of Polish emigrants, exist in London as well as in smaller towns. These are often home
nursery schools and therefore provide a cozier and more child-friendly environment.