Student who fled Ukraine offered college course after scoring 625 on high school diploma

She attended Castlecomer Community School in Kilkenny when she came to Ireland in 2022 after being displaced by the war.

“I really wanted to score over 600,” she said. “I didn't expect to do so well.”

Ms. Korenska attributed her success to three factors. The first was how difficult her previous school in Ukraine was.

“It was very tense there,” she said.

“You had to work as hard as you could to keep your place at school.

“But there I was a little above average, but at the same time I worked too hard, I would say.”

Another factor was that she studied 13-14 subjects in Ukraine, rather than the six that counted towards her school leaving certificate.

“Maths is the same, it's the language of numbers. English was the hardest, of course. But I really enjoyed studying in Ireland. It was easier than my previous school. It gave me the opportunity to enjoy school.”

Ms Korenskaya speaks English fluently, but says she “didn't speak English well” while living in Ukraine.

“I was good in theory, but I lacked practice,” she said.

“But everything changed when I came to Ireland. Especially with the Irish accent.”

Another aspect she attributed her success to was “just luck.”

Despite having to leave her home because of the war, the young student feels happy because she now lives where she really likes.

“I love Ireland,” she said.

We managed to settle down in the countryside. Mom took the car with her, and this allowed us to settle down somewhere outside the city. Now everything is going well. We still have some problems and hardships. But anyway, everything is going very well.

Mel Broderick, careers adviser at Castlecomer Community School, paid tribute to Ms Korensa's “incredible achievements”.

“She worked extremely hard,” Ms Broderick said. “You have this added element that English was not her first language. And she didn't do the Junior Cert in Ireland. But she did exceptionally well [work] throughout the year, and truly deserves it.”

The top student chose biomedical engineering at Dublin City University after considering astrophysics at University College Cork.

“But then I thought I wouldn't be able to find a normal job,” Ms. Korenska said.

“I realized that maybe I should do something more practical. But something that I really enjoyed.

“Of course I'm excited. I really enjoy learning. It's what I'm really good at.”