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In 2005, award-winning documentary maker Daisy Asquith began filming a unique and ambitious series of long-term documentaries about three immigrant children who move to Britain to begin a brand new life. Captured over five years, their lives have been documented on camera from the moment they stepped off the plane aged 11 right up until they reach their 16th birthday.

The first episode sees Imran, Altynay and Marshal arriving in Britain, their first impressions of their new home and follows their first days at school. Imran is in Peterborough and about to start secondary school in Britain, even though he has never left his village in Pakistan before; Altynay from Kyrgyzstan has to make friends in a Yorkshire village without speaking a word of English, and Marshal moves from Zimbabwe to Newcastle where he is finally reunited with his mother after spending five years apart.

In the second episode, Imran, Altynay and Marshal are in their second and third years in Britain and are adapting to their new surroundings; and in the third and final episode the children reflect back on their journey to Britain and how they finally settled into their new home.

Including brand new footage with the children aged 16, their interviews are warm, intimate and entertaining. They tell the story of multiculturalism in modern Britain and reflect back on their personal journey and describe the challenges they faced.

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24 thoughts on “Growing Up in a New Country: The Children’s Stories | Real Stories”

Imran story was so sad. He had a very hard time adjusting 😢 he looked so happy when we went back home.

Thank you for this documentary. I enjoyed watching it

We don’t want anymore foreigners here we won’t have an English left

it’s so interesting how the two children who integrated best into their new environment picked up the accents of the area they lived so well

especially altynay who didn’t know any english when she arrived

it’s fascinating

I'm wondering if where and how are they now – 2023 – as full grown adults.

Excellent Q how do you fell British…
I fell British Empire Colonial inherited.. “empire strikes back”

I was looking forward to watching this. Unfortunately it was uploaded without sub titles for when they are speaking their mother tongue, so unless you understand the languages spoken you won't get much educational value from the program.

Omg, this brought my own memories of coming to Canada. Everything was new, no English, but children adopt so quick

It is obvious Imran is better off in Pakistan. He has no place in the western culture 🙄. Such mindset is among the easily radicalized ones.

When people migrate to another country, it's often in the interest of all parties that the new migrants assimilate and adapt as much as possible in their host countries.
Otherwise, the whole purpose of relocating is defeated!
A grasp of the local language is very key in this regard!
That's probably the main reason why Altenay and Marshall seemed to blend in quicker than Imran.
Also, we can't overestimate the importance of a mother's education as this often impacts a child's development!
Again, in the interest of all parties, Imran really shouldn't be forced to stay England if his heart is in Pakistan.

Great, but English born kids can't get a place in their local schools.
And why is there so much 1 on 1 tutoring when usually there's 40 kids in a class, which 20 or so need 1 on 1 tutoring?

49:14 I agree😍 Seems like it's not much diversity in UK schools. It maybe just the school area where the children attend not sure. I really enjoyed seeing different color faces at the Pakistan child school. I'm not use to seeing one racial group in school. There maybe more of one racial group in school, but it's still mostly diverse in the States. I think the girl would actually do better if she went to a school with a mixture of different color children from different backgrounds. Overall I think all the kids did well👏😍

Well-expressed reality @1:32:49. Well, I don't feel ''British''. Don't you? Okay. Tell me about that. I think I merely will feel British. I don't know if my mum feels British. I don't. How can you feel British? You are who you are, right?

11:39😍 he did really well in his new surroundings, but I believe knowing English really helped, especially in a new school. No one looked like him, yet he made friends and they accepted him. 20:20 was hard to watch, I can tell it was too much for the poor child. Kids are kids, but she needed space to adjust. 29:00😂 his having fun, making people laugh, and making friends. I'm happy he has people who look like him and others that don't. Yet, his accepted by everyone because of the school he goes to.

Marion cousin so close it’s cold in Brett. Your children will be born with disabilities I had to stand. It’s partnership religion but at the end of the day it’s still going to cause their children to have major disabilities, and as they continue married to each other like that, it will continue reading more disabled children.

Ok but why is Jimmy Savile working at Altanai's school?

This is very touching to me cause I moved from Ghana to the USA when I was 12yrs old. Growing up young in a different country, environment and culture is most hardest for kids. Those are your developmental years and you get hit with a culture shock and the dilemma of acceptance in a new society.