Ukraine is lobbying the UK government to give teenage refugees who fled the war-torn country the chance to study a GCSE in Ukrainian, amid reports they are instead being pressed to study Russian.
Ukraine’s education ministry has written to the education secretary, Bridget Phillipson, to say it is “crucial” to reintroduce a GCSE in Ukrainian.
The letter, seen by the Guardian, 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.”
Thousands of Ukrainians in the UK have signed a petition calling for a Ukrainian GCSE as a matter of urgency. They argue the language is crucial for Ukraine’s independence and identity, and for the future of vulnerable young refugees in the UK.
The Department for Education (DfE), which is responsible for policy-making regarding education in England, has agreed to meet education officials from Kyiv to discuss the issue, but insisted that any decision about reintroducing a GCSE in Ukrainian was a matter for exam bodies.
GCSEs in Ukrainian were scrapped in England, Wales and Northern Ireland in 1995 due to a lack of demand. But since then there has been an influx of about 34,000 Ukrainian children to the UK, most of whom have fled with their families since Russia’s invasion in February 2022.
Many Ukrainian teenagers in the UK are upset to be prompted by British schools to instead study Russian at GCSE and are frustrated they cannot study their mother tongue.
Vitalii, who asked to be referred to only by his first name, fled the western city of Chernivtsi to live with his older sister in London in April 2022 when he was 15.
Although he could speak some Russian, he refused to study it at GCSE as his new London school had suggested. Vitalii, who is now 18, said: “Why should I study Russian – I’m Ukrainian and I want to show it. The language is paramount for all us.”
Liubov, 18, who also asked to be referred to by her first name, fled to Guildford in April 2022 with her mother and younger brother while her father stayed in Ukraine to fight the Russians.
She said: “I was really nervous about my future and when the school told me I could do Russian I thought it might be better than nothing.”
But she added: “I wish I could do Ukrainian because it would have been much easier for me and fairer too. My brother is in year 11 now and he really wanted to do Ukrainian GCSE. I thought it might have changed by now, but no.”
Inna Hryhorovych, the head of St Mary’s Trust, a network of 13 Ukrainian language schools in the UK, has been calling for the reintroduction of the GCSE since Russian-backed militants seized the Donbas region in 2014.
She said: “I don’t know why it is taking so long. It is very frustrating. What do I tell my students who keep asking when can they take this exam?
“Asking Ukrainian children to take Russian GCSE is really triggering for some children and raises inner conflicts.”
Hryhorovych has offered education officials visual and audio materials to help update the old GCSE in Ukrainian. So far, she says, she has been greeted with sympathetic words but little sign of practical progress to reintroduce the exam.
She said: “It is not just GCSE, students want the ability to take an A-level in Ukrainian as well. They will be going back to Ukraine sooner or later. And to go into higher education and careers in Ukraine they need proof of good language.”
A DfE spokesperson said: “We have been working with awarding organisations to help Ukrainian students work towards a qualification in Ukrainian that can complement their studies in the UK, as well as offering to meet the Ukrainian ministry of education and science to explore what further support we can provide.”
Vitalii said he could not understand why the UK was willing to supply weapons to Ukraine but not set up a GCSE.
He said: “Right now weapons are more needed, but in the long term it is the language that is crucial for Ukraine.”
Vitalii, who wants to become an architect and eventually help rebuild Ukraine, added: “There are so many Ukrainians in the UK right now and they need this for their future. I want other Ukrainian kids in the UK to have this opportunity and British kids should learn it too.”
Liubov said a GCSE programme would help boost the confidence of Ukrainians in the UK because they were likely to excel in the subject.
“It is hard for children to adapt to a new education system, so having a subject you can easily pass would make you feel more confident.”
