UK Urged to Offer Ukrainian Language Exam for Refugee Students

The UK government is facing pressure to reintroduce a Ukrainian-language exam to help child refugees preserve their cultural identity and recover from the trauma of war, The Gaze reports, citing The Guardian.

Since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, more than 27,000 Ukrainian children have arrived in the UK under the Homes for Ukraine scheme. Many have been left with no option but to study Russian in schools, which is retraumatizing for them.

GCSEs (General Certificate of Secondary Education) are exams typically taken by 15–16-year-old students in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland, covering a wide range of academic subjects. 

While Russian is available as a GCSE language subject, Ukrainian has not been offered since 1995 due to a lack of demand. That demand has now changed.

Vitalii, an 18-year-old refugee from Ukraine, said: “Why should I study Russian – I’m Ukrainian and I want to show it. The language is paramount for all of us.”

In response, Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson has written to UK exam boards encouraging them to consider reintroducing Ukrainian as a GCSE subject. A Department for Education working group has also been formed to help make it possible.

AQA, one of the UK’s leading exam boards, said it is reviewing the proposal: “We’ve every sympathy with Ukrainian students who, through no fault of their own, find themselves many miles from home and want to gain formal accreditation of their language.”

The Children’s Commissioner for England, Rachel de Souza, is also backing the move. After visiting St Mary’s Ukrainian School in west London, which teaches hundreds of refugee children, she praised the school as a “sanctuary” and stressed the importance of supporting Ukrainian students’ aspirations.

Despite widespread support, education experts caution that developing a new GCSE qualification could take several years. “Realistically, it takes two years to develop a qualification and another two years to teach it,” one education industry source said.

Still, Ukraine’s advocates say the long-term benefits are worth the effort. “Maintaining proficiency in Ukrainian is crucial for displaced children’s transition back to Ukraine,” Ukraine’s Ministry of Education said in a letter to the UK government.

Read more on The Gaze: Swedish Crown Princess Backs Ukrainian Culture