Over the last couple of decades the makeup of the UK population has changed rapidly. As a full member of the European Union, tens of thousands of families, many with young children, have settled here, as have thousands more from other continents. And in the higher-education sector, universities have welcomed international students with open arms, with pretty much all UK universities having large student populations from as far away as China and Indonesia.

It’s not just the international students who make use of the British education system, however. People of all ages who arrived here from other countries attend classes at their local primaries, secondary schools and colleges.

There are therefore literally hundreds of thousands of people being taught and studying here via the medium of the English language, but whose native language is not English.

Now, as anyone who has studied a foreign language will tell you, it’s not easy. And this is even more the case if you have to use that foreign language to study something else. And unfortunately this means that these students struggle academically because of their English. This doesn’t just apply to people who arrive in the UK to study as adults, but also people who have been here since a relatively young age. Even if someone from another country has been in the British education system since primary school, it’s possible that they’ve not managed to get the extra bit of language support that would give them the best possible start. Sure, they may well have a good enough level of English to pass GCSEs and A Levels, but it’s also the case that with the right extra bit of English-language assistance they could get the top grades.

If your first language isn’t English but you study in the UK, whether at secondary school or university, have you ever felt that a little bit of extra help with English would go a long way to sending you to the top of the class? If you have, it’s really nothing you should feel ashamed of or that you shouldn’t get help with, even if right now you’re doing well enough compared to your fellow students. There are plenty of ways you can get extra support so that your English skills are right up there with those of the most gifted students.

A good first step is to go and talk to your teachers. Even if your school doesn’t have the specific schemes or resources for teaching English language, the teachers may be able to offer more informal support for you, or at the very least give you contacts for local groups that offer English-language support.

And there are local organisations that help people with their reading and writing skills. Many public libraries have free English support groups or classes; you can get details on them from the website of the National Literacy Trust. Local community centres and churches also often run English-language programs and sessions.

If you’re at university here in the UK, your university will almost certainly have some form of English-language teaching centre that provides an advice service and even classes to help you make the most of your time as an international student.

If you’re studying in the UK having been raised to speak another language, just being able to keep up with the rest of the class is a great achievement. But if you are struggling, or feel you’re capable of even more, help is out there for you!