Graduate students pose for a collective portrait in a destroyed school bus close to the building of their school outside Kyiv, badly damaged on March 29, 2022, at the beginning of a full-scale war in Ukraine, May 16, 2023. 
Graduate Denys*, 17, poses for a portrait close to his school outside of Kyiv, badly damaged on March 29, 2022, at the beginning of a full-scale war in Ukraine, May 16, 2023. He wants to become a car mechanic after graduation. 
Graduate Kateryna*, 16, poses for a portrait close to her school outside of Kyiv, badly damaged on March 29, 2022, at the beginning of a full-scale war in Ukraine, May 16, 2023. She wants to become a landscape designer after graduation. 
Remains of the calligraphy writing board on the wall of the junior classroom at the school outside Kyiv, badly damaged on March 29, 2022, at the beginning of the full-scale war in Ukraine, May 14, 2023. 
Graduate Nadiya*, 16, poses for a portrait in the wardrobe of her school outside of Kyiv, badly damaged on March 29, 2022, at the beginning of a full-scale war in Ukraine, May 16, 2023. She wants to become a cyber security specialist after graduation. 
Graduate Oleh*, 17, poses for a portrait in the library of his school outside of Kyiv, badly damaged on March 29, 2022, at the beginning of a full-scale war in Ukraine, May 16, 2023. He wants to become a hospitality manager after graduation. 
School principal, Lyudmila, poses for a portrait close to her school outside of Kyiv, badly damaged at the beginning of full scale war in Ukraine, destroyed on March 29, 2022, at the beginning of a full-scale war in Ukraine, May 16, 2023. 
Graduate Mykyta*, 17, poses for a portrait in one of the classrooms of his school outside of Kyiv, badly damaged on March 29, 2022, at the beginning of a full-scale war in Ukraine, May 16, 2023. He wants to become an IT developer after graduation. 
Remains of the sports hall in the school outside of Kyiv, badly damaged on March 29, 2022, at the beginning of the full-scale war in Ukraine, on May 14, 2023. 
Oleksandra, a senior-year class teacher poses for a portrait in her classroom at the school outside of Kyiv, badly damaged on March 29, 2022, at the beginning of a full-scale war in Ukraine, May 16, 2023. 
Graduate Kyrylo*, 16, poses for a portrait in one of the classrooms in school outside of Kyiv, badly damaged on March 29, 2022, at the beginning of a full-scale war in Ukraine, May 16, 2023. He wants to become a car mechanic after graduation. 
Graduate Illia*, 17, poses for a portrait in one of the classrooms in his school outside of Kyiv, badly damaged on March 29, 2022, at the beginning of a full-scale war in Ukraine, May 16, 2023. He wants to become a marketologist after graduation. 
Remains of the computer science classroom in the school outside of Kyiv, badly damaged on March 29, 2022, at the beginning of the full-scale war in Ukraine, on May 14, 2023. 
Graduate Borys*, 17, poses for a portrait in the junior classroom of his school outside of Kyiv, badly damaged on March 29, 2022, at the beginning of a full-scale war in Ukraine, May 16, 2023. He wants to become an IT developer after graduation. 
Graduate Olena*, 17, poses for a portrait in the corridor of her school outside of Kyiv, badly damaged on March 29, 2022, at the beginning of a full-scale war in Ukraine, May 16, 2023. She wants to become a war journalist after graduation. 
Graduate Oleksii*, 16, poses for a portrait in one of the classrooms in his school outside of Kyiv, badly damaged on March 29, 2022, at the beginning of a full-scale war in Ukraine, May 16, 2023. He wants to become an agronomist after graduation. 
Remains of the chemistry classroom on the second floor of the school outside of Kyiv, badly damaged on March 29, 2022, at the beginning of the full-scale war in Ukraine, on May 14, 2023. 
Graduate Anton*, 17, poses for a portrait in the corridor of his school outside of Kyiv, badly damaged on March 29, 2022, at the beginning of a full-scale war in Ukraine, May 16, 2023. He wants to become an IT specialist after graduation.
Graduates of schools in memory of their studies traditionally order graduation albums with their portraits and joint photographs on the school grounds. But what if the native school was destroyed by the war and the students have to finish their studies somewhere else?
The village of Bogdanivka in the Kyiv region was under occupation by Russian troops from March 8 to 29, 2022. The local school and kindergarten at this time were transformed into a headquarters and hospital. During the retreat from the village, the Russian military blew up both buildings.
The destroyed school was the only one in the village. More than 400 schoolchildren were left without the opportunity not only to study fully, but also without the possibility of constant socialization at school.
“All children, probably at a younger age, had such a dream that the school burned down, because we do not want to go to school”, – says Kateryna (name changed), one of this year’s graduates. And sadly states that she did not appreciate her school enough until she lost it.
The graduating class of 2023 of the school in Bogdanivka consisted of 15 students. Each and every one of them has their own experience of war: someone survived the occupation and loss of connection with mother that was on the other side of the front, someone was forced to leave their country. But in the end, classmates met again in their native village to complete the school course.
According to the school principal Lyudmila Deyko, after the examination it was found that the building could be restored and hoped that in the fall of 2023 the reconstruction would begin. However, as of January 2024, construction work at the school has not begun.
This story was commissioned by the international public organization Save the Children in May 2023. The names of graduates have been changed in accordance with the requirements organization safeguarding.