Opening on the 1 November 2016!
Sensory play, arts and crafts, music and games for children 1-2 years old and their parents.
Every Tuesday 10 – 11 am. £10 per child.
To book your place please email to office@azbukafoundation.org
Only 10 places are available!
We are happy to share the news that one of our students, Andrew MacLeod, took part in the British
Chess Championship and finished 11 th in his Under 8 years old category. The event was held last July
in Bournemouth. More than 70 children from all parts of the UK participated in the tournament.
This result is a great achievement by Andrew and it was accomplished after just 60 lessons at
AZBUKKA Chess Club.
Andrew played well in Hampshire Chess tournament last month and qualified for the London Junior
Chess Finals in the Under 10 years old group.
We wish the best of luck to all our young chess players! Our coach, International Master, Augustin
Madan, would like to invite more children over the age of 5 to join his chess club and learn this
wonderful game (timetable).
Friday 25th November 2016 at 7pm at AZBUKA Russian-English Bilingual School & Nursery, Vernon Road, London SW14 8NH, MORTLAKE (map).
All parents are welcome. Book early to guarantee a place. Just email your full name to admin@azbukafoundation.org
This event will be held in English, Questions & Answers in both languages.
Please note that Open Evenings take place only twice a year.
Six AZBUKA children had roles in Opera Holland Park’s ambitious Queen of Spades in August, experiencing the thrill of taking part in top quality opera, learning how to work with professional performers – and even teaching the singers a few things about Russian pronunciation!
Opera Holland Park asked the AZBUKA Foundation to provide help for its new Russian language production of Tchaikovsky’s masterpiece at Holland Park in Kensington, recognising our skill in bilingual teaching including through the use of the performing arts.
It offered a valuable partnership of our different skills, with the chance to bring together friends, parents and supporters of the Foundation in the prestigious west London venue.
The children who volunteered showed great interest in Pushkin’s version, reading or hearing the story and watching film versions to prepare. They took part in six rehearsals, becoming particularly engaged when the dress rehearsals began with music and props. Friends and family attended, and they were given stage mums and nannies.
They enjoyed teaching the cast pronunciation of some Russian words, and loved their costumes, their parts and the life backstage.
Then, they took part in 8 performances during early to mid August in the canopied open air venue in front of Holland Park mansion, including a VIP evening that helped introduce AZBUKA to guests including the current Russian ambassador to the UK and the former British ambassador to Moscow.
The Opera was widely reviewed as a critical success by the Guardian, the Times, the FT, the Telegraph and others.
The children said afterwards that they missed their time in the opera, and have kept singing the music and the songs afterwards. They will keep their memories of Queen of Spades for a long time.
Andrew Jack
Photography: Robert Workman
The Queen of Spades, Opera Holland Park 2016
Here is some important dates for your information:
6th September – back to school for AZBUKA Russian-English School and Nursery
17th September – back to school for AZBUKA Saturday School.
AZBUKA AFTER SCHOOL CLUBS AND ACTIVITIES open for all!
TUESDAY
Mortlake, West London
KARATE 17.30 – beginners, 18.30 – advanced (in Russian and English)
CHESS 18.00 -19.30 6+ years old
DANCE for children and adults – NEW! From October 2016 (in Russian and English)
SATURDAY
Kew, West London
ILLUSTRATION 14.45 – 11+ years old, 15.30 – 5 to 7 years old, 16.15 – 8 to 10 years old (in Russian)
DANCE 14.45 – 5 to 7 years old, 15.30 – 8 to 10 years old, 16.15 – 11+ (in Russian)
KARATE 14.45 – beginners, 15.30 – advanced (in Russian)
CHESS 15.30 – 16.30 6+ years old (in Russian)
FRENCH 14.45 – 17.00 one to one sessions
VIA (music band) 14.30 – 15.30 6+ (in Russian)
To request a place and for all the additional information please write to
Here is some important dates for your information:
29th August – School office reopens for the new school year.
6th September – back to school for AZBUKA Russian-English School and Nursery
17th September – back to school for AZBUKA Saturday School.
We wishing you all a very pleasant summer and looking forward to seeing you soon!
This time our Saturday School children delighted our audience with a highly original staging of Meterlink’s play ‘The Bluebird’ – a first for us.
As usual, our students made everything for the performance with their own fair hands, from the unusual stage-set and props to the costumes, programmes and tickets. We are particularly endebted to Yelena Dubinskaya for her wonderfully atmospheric stage design and to Svetlana Malinina for her excellent adaptation of the original script. An artistic triumph beyond all expectation!
Sincere thanks to all our teachers, volunteers and parents, for their inspired support and practical assistance. We look forward to seeing you all again next year.
Theatrical productions form part of our wider arts programme. Language immersion through the arts is a vitally important element of our AZBUKA programme. At the AZBUKA School children learn the Russian language through a combination of structured lessons, art and theatre.
We create and learn in Russian – Творим и учимся на Русском!
Photography: Alisia Zelenska
Once again, our children have landed on their feet! This time it was having their lessons not in their school building but in the Royal Botanical Gardens!
The trip began with a tour of the Pagoda and the Japanese Garden and continued with a walk to Queen Charlotte’s Cottage.
Along the way children gathered twigs, cones, dry grass and leaves and used them to build a little den for the insects next to the Cottage.
The highlight of the day, though, was the badgers’ sett. The children climbed inside, following the walkways, some using torches to light their way. Some of the mothers even summoned up the courage to step into the dark!
Lunch was a right royal treat. Children and adults took their seats at the table from the famous tale of ‘Alice in Wonderland’ and admired the beautiful view of a splendid cedar-tree surrounded by peacocks. After lunch the children settled down on the grass for an hour of peace and quiet. They listened to the story of Tsokotukha the Fly and tried to solve the riddles.
But there was more to come for our intrepid travellers – the tree-top walk adventure! They took the rocket lift right up to the highest point and walked among the tops of the trees where they marvelled at the view of the entire Botanical Gardens.
In the warm sunshine the children continued their walk along the mysterious path that leads to the Serpentine Bridge and Lake. Along the way they gazed at the ducks and swans and explored the tiny island at the centre of the lake with the little Japanese ‘Minka’ house set among the bamboo thicket. The house, brought here from Japan, is 100 years old!
Sincere thanks go to all the teachers and carers who organised such a wonderful outing for our children.
The following classes are being enrolled:
Registration is closing on 5th July 2016!
Please follow this link to requests to register at the AZBUKA RUSSIAN-ENGLISH BILINGUAL SCHOOL and NURSERY. Once your request has been received, you will be sent a pack, which includes an application form. This form must be completed and returned before 5th July 2016.
When allocating places for the Reception and Year 1 classes priority will be given to children whose parents have submitted the relevant forms and paid the deposit before 5th July 2016.
Places are limited!
Application pack includes:
Welcome to AZBUKA!
On Friday 17th June we all assembled at the Azbuka Russian-English School and Nursery for a drama production – a matinée performance based on the story of Korney Chukovsky’s ‘Barmaley’.
It was so colourful, cheerful, bright and unique! The children were well prepared and unfazed by the size of the audience. The musical accompaniment was wonderful, as were the songs, the dancing and the stage set, all of it hand-made; the children acted beautifully and even the most fickle audience could not fail to be moved by the performance of our very own Barmaley, small but fearsome, and Aibolit, so caring and cheerful.
Many thanks to our children, their carers and teachers for such an unforgettable performance.
Create and learn – all in Russian!
