Iranian refugee ‘told to sit GCSEs without revision’ calls for better education access for asylum seekers

A teenage Iranian refugee who claims she was suddenly told to sit GCSEs without any revision time has called for better educational support for asylum seekers.

Negar Rezaei was 15 years old when she arrived in the UK in September 2020 after her family fled religious persecution in Iran but, amid the pandemic, she said she faced significant challenges to continue her schooling.

Her family was assigned to their local authority in Lancashire when they first arrived, but after two months without being placed in a school, Negar found the process too slow and decided to take her education into her own hands.

Now 19 and with dreams of becoming a pilot, Negar said she called four different schools asking for a place when her family first settled in Nelson, Lancashire, but was repeatedly rejected.

She then visited several schools in person and eventually, after breaking down in tears on her visit to Colne Primet Academy, she was offered a place in Year 10 – a year below her school age group.

After just six months in Year 10, she said she was suddenly told she had to sit her GCSEs in July 2021 so she could skip forward a year to continue her education at college.

Without any time to revise, Negar had to complete 12 papers in English, maths and applied science in less than a week.

“I was told to do these exams which I had no idea what they were,” she told PA Real Life.

“I was placed in a corridor where people were walking about, and GCSE exams were just placed in front of me, and somehow I managed to pass maths and science.”

A September 2024 report by the charity Refugee Education UK showed accessing education is particularly challenging for asylum seekers who arrive mid-year in Year 11 when their peers are preparing for GCSEs.

The report claims this is due to a lack of available school places, changes to or uncertainty with young people’s accommodation and schools being unable or unwilling to accept late arrivals.

Despite the lack of preparation time, Negar managed to pass GCSE maths and science and landed a place at Burnley College, where she went on to achieve a distinction star in travel and tourism.

After winning a student of the year award in Lancashire, she is now studying aerospace engineering at Sheffield Hallam University.

“I’m really proud of myself for being able to convince (the teachers) to move me up because colleges and schools aren’t very flexible with foreign students who come from a disadvantaged background,” Negar said.

“Back home, I was a top student, and I was used to being a top student, because I always had an opportunity to prove myself.

“In the UK I started school halfway through lockdown and had to study online and get used to the language as well.”

Now in her foundation year at university, Negar said she now hopes to earn a funded scholarship for pilot training.

She also wants to help other asylum seeker students arriving in the UK to access education more easily.

“I am really motivated to help other asylum seeker children get into school,” she said.

“In the future I’m hoping to create an organisation to make the education system more flexible for asylum seeker children.”

A spokesperson for Colne Primet Academy said: “Primet welcomes large numbers of students who are new to the UK each year, supporting them in their studies.

“Places for students in Year 11 are not often available within Pendle, but where there is the option to facilitate their education by joining other year groups, we work flexibly to enable as many students as possible within our local community to have the opportunity to access education.

“All of our exams, including during the 2021 series, are conducted according to JCQ regulations and inspected annually.

“We wish Negar lots of luck as she continues to work hard to achieve her ambition of becoming an airline pilot.”

Lancashire County Council said it recognised “a growing need” for support for families new to the area in finding school places.

“We have recently increased our team to support more families and are growing it again this year,” a council spokesperson said.

“We have also created East Lancashire Learning Information Exchange (Ellie) in 2021 and Central Lancashire Learning Information Exchange (Cellie) in 2023, which are one-stop shops in Burnley and Preston, where families can receive guidance on how to navigate the admissions system.

“In the last three years, Ellie has helped more than 500 families, while Cellie has supported more than 100 families since its opening last year.”