The British government has issued an official apology to Ukrainian child refugees in UK schools who were advised to pursue Russian language qualifications in the absence of a Ukrainian GCSE option. Schools Minister Georgia Gould made the announcement while unveiling a new Ukrainian language qualification being developed by the AQA exam board with financial support from the Department for Education.
The initiative follows years of advocacy by the Ukrainian government and community groups representing more than 30,000 Ukrainian children who have fled to the UK since Russia’s 2022 invasion. In a 2024 letter to the DfE, Ukraine’s education ministry expressed concern that students were being pressured to take Russian GCSE exams due to the lack of a Ukrainian alternative. The new qualification is expected to be available in England in 2028.
Ukrainian student representatives expressed relief at the development. Vitalii Andronik, 20, recalled being urged to study Russian as a teenage refugee and welcomed the apology, noting the qualification would benefit future generations. Sofiia Chonka, 16, shared that she had refused to study Russian after fleeing to London, saying she did not want involvement with Russia after the country killed people she knew.
Ukraine’s Education Minister Andrii Butenko expressed gratitude for the UK’s support, characterizing the new GCSE as providing equal opportunity for Ukrainian children to study their native language. Officials noted that exam boards had initially been reluctant to develop a qualification for a smaller student population, making the financial commitment from the Department for Education significant.
The minister indicated the government remains open to further developments, including potential A-level qualifications in Ukrainian, and encouraged British students to consider studying the language as a gesture of solidarity with Ukraine.
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