Teenage girl awarded scholarship at British boarding school trapped in Gaza
D.Ania Alfaranji must have entered her final year at a prestigious British boarding school. Like many young girls, she dreams about what her dorm will look like and what clothes she can wear. The world must be full of possibilities.
Instead, the 16-year-old boy lives in a tent in the backyard of a building in the southern Gaza town of az-Zawayda, which was reduced to rubble by airstrikes. He collects firewood, desperately waits for aid trucks to bring food, and hopes to make it out of the Gaza Strip alive.
To make life even worse, he was separated from his mother Hayat Ghalayini, who lives in England, and was forced to grow up too fast.
Dania was 14 years old when the war began on October 7, 2023. As a top student, he won a full scholarship to study at Reddam House, an independent boarding school in Berkshire, six months after the conflict began. But he couldn’t get the spot due to a loophole in the British government’s evacuation policy, which allowed some college students to leave the Strip but excluded high school students, postdoctoral students and researchers.
Time stood still for Dania’s mother, who was waiting for her daughter in Trafford, Manchester.
Hayat says, “I miss him. I can’t think of anything else.” Independent. “Everything – cars, electricity, water, roads – reminds me of him. I sleep thinking about him and dreaming about touching him.”
Hayat, who married Dania’s stepfather in 2022 and resided in England, was separated from her daughter when the war broke out. Amid the chaos, Dania’s three older sisters, now in their twenties, made the difficult decision to seek their mother’s release, hoping they could join her soon.
However, evacuation before the border closure in May 2024 became very expensive, costing between £5,000 and £10,000 per person; this was an amount the family could not afford. Some of those offering escape were operating illegally, charging exorbitant prices to get names on evacuation lists.
The scholarship, provided through the Horizons Academy for gifted and talented young students and funded by the Nsouli Scholars Programme, offered Dania a “lifeline” to help her achieve her dream of becoming a Palestinian diplomat. But as the bombings intensified, he too became stranded; According to Save the Children, approximately 20,000 children have been killed in Gaza.
Home Office guidance published in September 2025 says students on full scholarships will be evacuated to a third country to complete the visa process, which includes security checks and the sending of biometric information. However, he adds that although the guidance applies to Chevening scholarship holders and those on full scholarships to university, it “does not include” [those applying to] independent schools”.
Reddam House cannot issue a CAS (Certificate of Acceptance of Study) without the support of the Home Office and Dania cannot be evacuated to Egypt or Jordan to obtain her visa.
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“University students who were evacuated to the UK less than a month ago did not need to pay anything because the government and embassy were responsible for arranging all travel from Gaza until they reached their school safely,” says Dania, who now has a good understanding of the evacuation process.
There are three students at Reddam, including Dania, who received a scholarship and one who did not receive a scholarship. One decides to finish school in Gaza due to the resulting uncertainty, while the other hopes to persuade Reddam, who will soon turn 18, to allow him to repeat a grade. Three other Reddam scholars were able to leave the area before the Rafah crossing closed.
“They are no longer eligible for this scholarship because they waited so long,” says Dania. “This is one of my biggest fears right now. I want to make the most of this scholarship and live abroad, hopefully with my mother.”
Dania hopes to have a chance at a normal life after a ceasefire was declared earlier this month.
“The ceasefire gives a small hope that travel processes may be easier or occur faster or more smoothly, but no solutions have yet been implemented for any travel routes.”
Hayat is heartbroken for not being able to help her daughter through her formative years.
“She had to learn how to bake bread over a wood fire, just cook, clean, go to the market, and buy and source supplies with her sisters. These are all things a 16-year-old wouldn’t need to do under normal circumstances,” she says.
“I’m afraid that as time goes by, I won’t be able to recognize my daughter.”
Hayat says the Foreign Office said they couldn’t help because Dania was not a British citizen, although her mother lived in the UK. He asked for help on humanitarian grounds but received no response.
Independent Contacted FCDO for comment. The Ministry of Internal Affairs said that it does not consider applications from people under the age of 18.
A spokesperson for Reddam House said they were unable to comment on individual applications but added: “While we celebrate the opportunities provided by scholarships, we also recognize the extraordinary challenges faced by some of our incredibly deserving recipients.
“We are also committed to remaining flexible in our arrangements, which may include offering the option of deferring their studies if appropriate, to ensure that every student has the best possible chance of taking full advantage of this opportunity.”
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Dr. is an academic at the University of Birmingham and part of the UK Gaza Students Coalition. Nora Parr is currently working on a campaign to expand the university student program to students applying to independent schools and other applicants, including PhD students and researchers.
“In most schools, classes have started at this point, and at some point it’s too late,” he says. “Everybody wants to see these bright people in education. They want to advance themselves and rebuild their communities.”
Parr says the system needs to be overhauled to better support those in conflict zones.
“We need a fully functional, well-thought-out system where people know what to do. They can expect to be treated fairly and humanely, given the context they come from.”
