countrywide this is a big bet for students – this is the first step towards their future, which they have so far dreamed of. But especially for children who live in sparsely populated parts of Greece, the stakes are much higher. As are expectations. The intense preparation for the university also has its own characteristics.

“I was the only one who chose the 4th scientific direction out of nine students of the 3rd lyceum. So, in some subjects I am alone in the class. It’s like I’m doing something special and it’s positive, it’s good for me,” she tells K. Hariklia Andreogluresident of Adriani, 11 km from Drama. 1000 inhabitants live here. The school of Chariklia is located in the village of Nikiforos. “This is a remote but small, beautiful, picturesque village, a village from another era,” she describes, adding that her very old school has been renovated and is fully operational.

Chariklia, like many schoolchildren from a distant region who dream of studying elsewhere, is an excellent student – last year she graduated from the 2nd Lyceum with a grade of 19.7. This year he paid great attention to exam preparation. She says her teachers at school are allies in this cause. “They are very passionate and fun with us. My guess is that in schools in big cities, many students can get lost in the classroom.”

On the other hand, reduced incentives and restrictions on the mode of movement leave few options other than reading. “Fortunately, since childhood, I had a way out: I participated in the heptathlon at the championship level. I am an athlete of the Drama Club,” says Chariklia. As for going out, “Even to go out on a Saturday night with our friends, we need our parents to take us along. If you stick in and go back and forth to drama tutoring school, we’ll be in the car all day.”

Hariklia wants to enter the Faculty of Economic Sciences at the University of Macedonia in Thessaloniki. Her two older brothers are already studying there. “I love my village very much, but now I want to be where I have anonymity,” he says, adding: “Village alone comfort zone. He will always be here. And my parents studied elsewhere and returned to Adriani. I want to live a student life. And this is an additional, excellent motivation to pass the exams as best as possible.

As for choosing a profession, she says she is interested in the tourism industry. “My role model is my aunt, who works in this field and constantly travels abroad. I thought that if I combined it with a degree in economics, I would have strong resources.”

Tutorial via Skype and many drawings

On the other side of the map, in the coastal village of Maltezana Akritiki. Astypalea17 year old Savina-Moshula Karmaniolu she also reads intensively. She also studies very well – she graduated from the second high school with an 18 1/2 and is engaged in a theoretical direction.

“There are 50 of us in the village and four children. The bus that goes through all the villages to pick up the students leaves at 07:00. There are 65 children studying in the gymnasium with senior classes. We have 8 children in the 3rd school, 12 in the 2nd and 12 in the 1st” she, in turn, brings us moments from the daily life of the students of her place.

Savina says that all this school year she woke up from 06:00 to do repetitions. After school, he read for another seven hours, but now, on the last stretch of the national exams, he reads twice as long. She is engaged in Skype tutoring with a teacher in Athens, since in the village where she is located, it is much more convenient for her than the second time during the day to go along the difficult road to Chora (where the tutoring is located).

Like Chariklia, so does Savina, who says that the school’s teachers are doing their best to help children “catch” the schools they want. “They also do a lot of things outside of the curriculum, more of a crash course,” he notes. The profession she wants to pursue is a guide, and she says she already dreams of traveling to Europe, as well as to more distant countries, such as China. The school he is chasing is the High School of Tourism Professions in Rhodes.

“I want Rhodes because it is close to my island. I don’t want to say goodbye to my parents. I also want to lighten the family budget,” he says. In any case, in Rhodes she will get much of what she lacks in Astypalaia – theater, cinema, entertainment. “All the fun – from shopping to movies and music – passes through our phones,” notes Savina.

OUR Maria Kali, also attends the same school in Astypalea. In fact, she is a truant from the 3rd Lyceum. She’s also an honors student — she got a 19.4 last year — and she wants to go to the School of Civil Engineering (she was inspired by her uncle, who practices this profession on the island) at the National Technical University of Athens. Having considered his choice since the 2nd high school, for the last two years he has been systematically going to the tutoring center Chora (the only one on the island). The school he chose has a very high base.

“I’ve been reading all day for three months now,” he says, emphasizing, “The island doesn’t suit me anymore. I can’t have a hobby in Astypalaea. I tried fencing in several programs outside the island and saw that I could be good. But doing this sport here only sounds like a joke. For a lonely person like me, the situation was on the one hand comfortable, but on the other hand it kept me locked up and made me fall face down while reading. And in painting. I really love to draw.”

“With bags in hands” and students of the northernmost school in Greece

With long-balanced decisions about professions and schools and nationwide, reminiscent of the last act of the mathematical equation, the academic year for students of the 3rd Lyceum of the northernmost school in Greece, in Dikeia Evros, is also coming to an end. The village is located 35 km from Orestiada and has a population of 561 inhabitants.

16 students from seven different nearby villages attend the Law School. OUR Nikos Dardamanis, is one of them and chose the positive direction. His goal is to get into Evelpidon’s school. His brother Yannis, who goes to Lyceum A, wants to become a policeman.

“Fast professional recovery is one of the reasons I chose Evelpidon, and it is also in line with my principles,” says Nikos. After all, this is a profession that can easily put him back in his place (as well as being a cop), something that both brothers already have in mind.

She is also clear with her choice. Maria Eleni Deligianidou, a student of the 3rd secondary school of the theoretical direction, who wants to become a teacher of special education, studies at Volos University. She explains why she wants to leave Dikeya for at least the next four years: “We are in critical Evros. We need a car to go to the tutoring center in Orestiada. We have to drive half an hour to go for coffee. Classmates live in neighboring villages, but we often communicate via Skype. There is no public transport. For everything we want to do, we need our parents.”

OUR Dimitris Tsamoglu, the director of this school, tells “K” that all students of the 3rd high school will achieve their goal, since they have been working for this since the 1st high school. He also describes the climate that prevails in the student community of rural Evros: “Most children want to live a few years of student life in big cities, since there is no university in Orestiada. If there were jobs, many of them would like to return immediately after graduation. But the area is empty. According to the last census, it seems that in the last decade we have lost 6,000 inhabitants. Until a few years ago, daily OSE routes went to Dikaya. Now it’s noon, and not always. How can kids not want to leave?