We are launching a new Education programme: UK-Ukraine School Partnerships, funded by the Department of Education of the United Kingdom – in support of the UK government’s new Unbreakable 100 Year Partnership. In Ukraine we implement the programme with support from the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine.
The UK-Ukraine School Partnerships programme aims to foster cross-cultural understanding, enhance language and communication skills, and promote collaboration between students and educators from both countries.
About the UK-Ukraine School Partnerships
The programme will build international awareness and cultural understanding among students and teachers by bringing schools together into international partnerships.
It will bring an international perspective to classroom learning which is highly motivational to students and teachers. The theme of the partnerships is ‘Reading for pleasure’ with a wide range of potential activities so that students from any school and classes can take part.
Additionally, the programme will focus on supporting learners’ language and communication skills in both countries – by promoting communication in English and Ukrainian, and aligning with Ukraine’s ambition to enhance the English proficiency of its young people. The programme will be beneficial for displaced learners from Ukraine in the UK as it will strengthen UK-based Ukrainian young people’s cultural ties to the homeland – by engaging with some UK schools with students of Ukrainian origin.
The participant schools will be welcome to extend participation to the whole school and the wider school community, if desired, through activities such as assemblies, and communication and engagement activities with parents and other community members.
How it works
We will pair schools in the UK and Ukraine in guided partnerships, giving learners aged between 7 and 14 and teachers the chance to connect with their peers and bring an international perspective into the classroom – creating relationships that can continue well beyond the programme itself. The schools in Ukraine do not need to have a UK school partnership already – we provide the contacts to establish one.
The paired schools will collaborate on time-bound, joint educational projects using resources provided by the British Council (for example, Ukrainian Language and Culture and Reading for Pleasure packs) and the British National Literacy Trust. Schools are welcome to use their own materials if they wish.
Partnerships should last a minimum of 4-6 months, and there will be three entry points: April 2025, September 2025, January 2026.
We will also provide teachers and school leaders with professional development opportunities, both in-person and online through partner-matching events and collaborative planning and learning sessions. These activities will focus on sharing effective practice, developing project plans using trauma-informed approaches, and building international partnerships that are impactful and sustainable.
How to apply
Soon we’ll announce a call for expressions of interest among the state-funded primary and secondary schools across Ukraine, please follow our announcements in the social media: British Council Ukraine in Facebook and Instagram.