Qualification ready in England in 2028 after years of lobbying

On November 4, 2026, the UK government apologized to Ukrainian child refugees who had been told to study Russian in English schools, launching funding for a new GCSE in Ukrainian at the same time. Ukrainian children who had been forced to seek refuge in the UK after Vladimir Putin’s 2022 invasion said it was “insulting” that their teachers suggested they study Russian in the absence of a GCSE in Ukrainian.

Schools minister Georgia Gould made the announcement during a visit to St Mary’s school in west London, the centre of a network of 13 Ukrainian-language schools in the UK. She said: “So many students were pushed into having to do Russian. I’m really sorry that they were put in that position. It’s really important that they will have access to a Ukrainian GCSE.”

The qualification is being developed by the AQA exam board with the help of a £340,000 grant from the Department for Education, and it will be ready in England in 2028.

The funding followed years of lobbying by the Ukrainian government and Ukrainian community groups on behalf of more than 30,000 Ukrainian children who have fled to the UK. In a letter to the Department for Education in 2024, the education ministry in Kyiv said: “We are deeply concerned that due to the lack of Ukrainian GCSE, many Ukrainian children are being pressured by their school staff to pass the Russian GCSE.”

Gould described the project as a response to requests from the Ukrainian government, community groups and young people. She said: “It was one of the Ukrainian government’s asks of us that we deliver a Ukrainian GCSE, and one of the asks from the community and young people. We’re really proud to be able to do it, and proud of that partnership with the Ukrainian government.”

Sofiia Chonka, 16, fled to London from Zakarpattia in south-west Ukraine with her family in June 2024. Teachers told her to study Russian in year 9, and she refused. Chonka said: “I was told to study Russia in year 9, I just said ‘no’. I didn’t want anything to do with Russia – they killed my people and injured my family.”

Chonka had just started her A-levels and said she would take the new exam when it was available. “It’s such a beautiful thing to be speaking Ukrainian when the Russians are trying to mute you,” she said.

She added: “I’m really sad that it has taken so long, but at least they are starting the process, and some of my younger friends will have the opportunity to do it.” Chonka also rejected the claim that Ukrainian and Russian are similar languages. “It’s a stereotype that they are similar languages – they are completely different. Because Ukrainian is so beautiful, the Russians don’t like it. They can’t ban it, they can’t ban people,” she said.

Gould was introduced during the visit to Vitalii Andronik, 20, who told The Guardian in 2024 how he had been urged to study the Russian GCSE as a 15-year-old refugee. Gould told him: “I’m really sorry that you were put in that position.” Andronik welcomed both the qualification and the apology. He said: “It’s too late to me, but I want future generations of refugees to study Ukrainian. It’s a recognition of the trauma that we went through. It’s brilliant news to hear that in future kids here won’t have to study Russian.”

Inna Hryhorovych, the head of St Mary’s Trust, had been calling for a Ukrainian GCSE since Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014. She said: “It’s still hard to comprehend that we don’t need to fight for this any more.” Her next campaign, she said, would be a new A-level in Ukrainian.

Ukraine’s education minister, Andrii Butenko, said he was grateful to the UK government. He said: “This will give Ukrainian children forced to leave their homes by Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine an equal opportunity to choose their native language as a GCSE subject. We will continue working with AQA and the DfE to develop a high-quality and accessible qualification.”

The Guardian characterized Ukrainian as a language at the cultural frontline of the conflict with Russia and reported that Vladimir Putin has banned Ukrainian books and the teaching of Ukrainian in lands Russia has occupied. Gould said: “Whether it’s military support or this the kind of cultural support, our message as a British government is we stand absolutely steadfast behind the Ukrainian people.”

Gould said AQA had been nervous about developing a new qualification for a relatively small cohort of students. She said: “Despite the challenges of a smaller qualification, we really wanted to put financial resources to making it possible, and I’m grateful that AQA has come forward.”

She added: “I want this to happen as quickly as possible for people, but I’m really glad that it is happening now. Some of the students sitting here today will be able to study this GCSE.” The government was focusing on GCSEs for now. Gould said: “We’re just doing GCSEs for now. Let’s see how it goes. But we really want this to be a success.”

Gould encouraged British children to take up the qualification as an act of solidarity. “I think it would be wonderful if more people were taking up Ukrainian GCSE,” she said, and she joked that Ukrainian children could tutor their friends as a “side hustle.” When Gould announced the plan to a dozen Ukrainian pupils at St Mary’s school, they applauded and in unison said “diakuyemo,” or “thank you very much.”