Kathrine Frich
New lesson documents suggest the classroom focus is changing in step with the conflict.
A little-known school in west London is drawing attention as Russia’s war reshapes institutions far beyond the front lines.
The programme described in the plans has prompted questions about what is being taught, and why, inside a diplomatic compound.
Lessons shift
The Daily Express reports that pupils at a Russian embassy school in Notting Hill are being taught skills linked to battlefield drones.
The school is run by Russia’s foreign ministry and educates children of diplomats, alongside a smaller number of other pupils, including some with British citizenship.
Lesson plans for the 2025-26 year show Year 10 pupils, aged 15 and 16, had an hour-long session on technical preparation and communications for combat drones.
Other lessons last term included fortifications engineering, battlefield first aid and protection against radiological, biological and chemical weapons.
These classes form part of a course called Fundamentals of Security and Protection of the Motherland (OBZR), introduced in Russian schools at the start of the 2024/2025 academic year, according to the report.
New curriculum
The Daily Express says OBZR replaced a previous subject, Fundamentals of Life Safety, which included some military elements but focused more on civilian risks.
Under the earlier course, pupils at the school learned to assemble Kalashnikov rifles and practiced simulated grenade throws using tennis balls.
As reported by The Times, the updated curriculum reflects how drones have become central to the war in Ukraine, with the report citing an estimate that drones account for three in four casualties on both sides.
A curriculum document at the embassy school states that pupils aged 15 to 17 must learn methods of combat use for unmanned autonomous vehicles and the history of robotic systems.
The plan was signed off in September by headmaster Alexander Pogorelov, the Daily Express reported.
Scrutiny grows
Ian Garner, author of Z Generation, told The Times:
“Students at the embassy school are learning very real military skills. This isn’t a course designed to keep safe in the event of an emergency.”
“These are courses that are saying to kids who are studying in England that you need to align yourself with a military identity, you need to be able to fight because the war is already happening and it is surrounding you as a Russian.”
The school, founded in 1954, is among about 80 Russian embassy schools worldwide, the report said.
As part of the embassy, it has diplomatic exemptions and is not overseen by the UK Department for Education or schools inspectorate.
Sources: Daily Express, The Times
