Article presents different approaches towards studying abroad amongst pupils, who graduated in 2020 from one of the best Polish secondary schools, III Liceum Ogólnokształcącego im. Marynarki Wojennej RP (III LO, the Polish Navy High School No. 3) in Gdynia. It is based on the results of the research entitled “III LO, the Polish Navy High School No. 3 – Where Do We Go From Here? Emigrational and Educational Plans of The Graduates” which was carried out in 2020 by the Emigration Museum in Gdynia.
The project, executed in the form of a case study, aimed to learn about the educational plans of high school graduates, who intended to study abroad, and the main conditions associated with these intentions. Specific objectives covered such issues as: recognisisng the reasons and personal motivations that made the pupils decide to study outside of Poland; identifying personal experiences, which favour education abroad; recognising preferred destinations of educational migration; recognising the conditions of the decisions to leave Poland in the context of the pupils’ life circumstances, systemic solutions and plans for the future concerning personal as well as professional life; collecting information on potential private and professional plans after graduating from studies abroad; as well as determining the identity, which is being shaped, of the secondary school graduates, who have decided to study abroad.
The results of the project confirm that there are clear differences between female and male graduates both in their approach to studying abroad as well as in their migration strategies.