New Bury St Edmunds Polish School opens at New Bury Community Centre on Howard Estate

A headteacher of a new Saturday school said it is a privilege to teach children about their parents’ culture and language as the county’s third Polish school opened.

Elżbieta Tomasik, 54, of Brandon, welcomed pupils to Bury St Edmunds’ first Polish School at the New Bury Community Centre on the Howard estate on Saturday, November 16.

This is Mrs Tomasik’s second school in Suffolk, having launched a Polish school in Brandon five years ago.

The school will teach Polish language skills, history and culture primarily to primary-aged children who were either born in the UK or have moved here from Poland.

However, Mrs Tomasik will also support older students preparing for their Polish GCSE exam.

When asked why it was important to have Polish schools, she said: “Most of our children know better English than Polish because they spend most of the week at British schools, which is great because they are learning two languages.

“However, I also want the children here to learn and not forget their native language.

“It is important for them to learn about their culture, especially as they have grandparents and other family in Poland.

“They should have the privilege of speaking to them in Polish, and if some decide to return to their homeland in the future, they have the language skills to do so.”

Before moving to the UK in 2015, Mrs Tomasik taught Years 1 to 3 at a school in Krakow for 17 years, where she was also a deputy headteacher for a year.

She said there was a great need for a Polish school in Bury and she felt honoured to finally make it a reality.

“Being a teacher is a great calling, and in my case, it is a great passion,” she said. “Speaking to Poles who live in Bury, I knew there was need.

“I wanted to open a school in this town for a while, but it was difficult to find the right place. I’m happy to make my dream come true.

“There are many school-aged children who live in this area, but they either have to travel to Thetford or Ipswich to attend a Polish school, which can be quite far for some parents.”

Apart from teaching how to read and write, Mrs Tomasik said she plans to hold events related to Polish traditions, including how Polish Christmas and Easter are celebrated.

Next month, Father Christmas will visit to mark Saint Nicholas Day, otherwise known as Mikolajki.

On opening day, children were taught about Poland’s Independence Day, which is marked on November 11.

Mrs Tomasik added: “Although many of the new generation of children were born in the UK, they are still very eager to learn their mother tongue.

“It makes me very happy as it is part of their identity.”