UK apologises to Ukrainian child refugees who were told to study Russian
Exclusive: Schools minister launches new Ukrainian GCSE and says she is sorry students were pushed to study Russian in its absence The UK has apologised to Ukrainian child refugees
By The Guardian
The UK Government has apologised to Ukrainian children who were encouraged to study Russian in English schools because there was no GCSE qualification in Ukrainian.
Schools minister Georgia Gould said she was sorry that pupils had been put in that position. The comments came as the Government announced £340,000 in funding to develop a new Ukrainian GCSE.
The qualification is being created by exam board AQA and is intended to give Ukrainian pupils the opportunity to study and formally assess their home language.
Ukrainian children arrived in the UK in large numbers after Russia’s full-scale invasion began in 2022. Some pupils said it was insulting to be directed towards Russian when they wanted to maintain their connection with Ukrainian language and culture.
The Ukrainian Ministry of Education and Science raised concerns in a 2024 letter to the Department for Education. It said the lack of a Ukrainian GCSE had led to pressure on some children to take Russian instead.
The new qualification will be open to all pupils, not only those from Ukrainian backgrounds. It will assess listening, speaking, reading and writing.
The GCSE is expected to be available for first teaching in England, Wales and Northern Ireland from September 2028, with the first assessments planned for 2029.
Education Secretary Lucy Powell said Ukrainian children and their families should have every opportunity to maintain a connection with their heritage. She said the qualification would support language skills, cultural understanding and future study and employment.
Ukraine’s education minister, Andrii Butenko, welcomed the announcement as an important step towards giving Ukrainian children a genuine choice in their education while respecting their identity.
The qualification follows a campaign by the Ukrainian government, community organisations and young people for a formal Ukrainian language GCSE.