As the conflict in Ukraine enters its fifth year, pupils across Scotland are forming friendships with Ukrainian classmates through the UK-Ukraine School Partnerships programme.
Pupils at Elgin Academy in Moray and Papa Westray primary school in Orkney are among 130 schools from across the UK and Ukraine taking part in the British Council initiative, funded by the UK Government, which connects schools through shared reading, creative projects and regular online exchanges designed to build empathy, resilience and global awareness.
At Elgin Academy, the S2 class of 29 pupils, aged 13–14, is now collaborating with a school in the Poltava region. The partnership has special significance at Elgin, located near RAF Lossiemouth, Scotland’s largest RAF base where many pupils come from military families.
The classes have exchanged letters, researched Remembrance Day traditions in both countries, created giant sunflowers with messages, and in January, introduced their Ukrainian friends to Robert Burns.
The class voted to share the novel “Ghost” by Jason Reynolds, only later realising the main character loves sunflower seeds, Ukraine’s national symbol. The partnership has been particularly meaningful for two Ukrainian pupils in the class, who have enjoyed speaking their own language with the Ukrainian students during video calls.
School librarian Shelagh Toonen applied for the programme following a conversation at the Edinburgh Book Festival, when a Ukrainian pupil spoke about family losses during the war.
She said: “From that experience, I thought we could probably do an awful lot more. When I saw the opportunity through the British Council, I thought it would be a great way to develop a working relationship with Ukraine and share our love of reading.”
Shelagh travelled to Poland last September to meet partner teacher Katia.
She explained: “When I met Katia, I realised they don’t have a library the way that we do.She was nearly in tears when she saw that I was gifting her some books, they have to rely on sponsors to buy books for them at the moment.”
Image: (Pupils from Elgin Academy S2 class working with their chosen book ‘Ghost’ for their Ukraine school partnership)
The video sessions have been tempered with difficulties including air raid sirens and power cuts, moments that have brought the reality of war into the Elgin classroom. Shelagh explained that their partner school is on the front line, operating under a “three bells warning” system – when sirens sound, pupils must move to shelter for online learning.
“Our pupils have definitely developed a lot of empathy throughout the project,” Shelagh said. “They’ve had a kind of gradual awakening and have come to realise what a privilege coming into school every day is.”
Neil Johnson, Head Teacher at Elgin Academy added: “In Scotland, young people’s exposure to current affairs now is very limited, and the conflict has been going on for so long that for many of them, it’s just background noise.
“This partnership makes it real and gives it a focus for our pupils.”
On Papa Westray, one of Orkney’s most remote islands and Scotland’s smallest school in the programme, Head Teacher Tim Ross leads weekly Friday morning video calls between his six pupils, aged 6–8, and eight children at Voinivskyi Lyceum in Ukraine.
The programme comes at a meaningful time for the Papay school, which after welcoming another family late last year, currently has two Ukrainian families within the school community. For them, learning about the partnership was a welcome surprise.
Tim said: “It’s been lovely to tell them about the close link we now have with the Ukrainian school. You could see their faces light up when I mentioned the project, and it demonstrates our support and interest in their experience and background.
“The children in the school have already developed a strong, supportive kindness toward Ukraine because of their friends at the school.” He said, “Even at this young age, they recognise that we’ve got friends here who’ve had to leave their home because of the war.”
Tim Ross (R), Head teacher at Papa Westray Primary School, meeting with Ukrainian counterpart Svitlana from their Ukrainian partner school during their meeting in Poland, in 2025
As part of the partnership, Tim has invited one of the Ukrainian parents to teach the whole class some basic Ukrainian phrases, using an approach that links to their daily phonics learning. He said: “It’s a great exercise for the children in experiencing another culture, listening, and sharing language, it’s also been a great way to connect the programme to our wider community.”
“The calls work best when we’re sharing fun visual learning and finding out about our shared experiences and interests,” Tim said.
“We’re proud of our friendship with Ukraine. This whole programme is about being supportive, none of these children are at fault for what’s happening, and we want to give them something positive to look forward to each week.”
Power cuts on Papa Westray can knock out electricity for six hours at a time, giving the island community an unexpected understanding of the disruptions faced by their Ukrainian partners.
Tim said: “We’ve had to miss some planned activities because of the difficulties they’re facing in Ukraine with power cuts, and the air raids. It really brings home the challenges they’re dealing with.
“But what’s been amazing is how energised both classes are about the Friday sessions. I think this regular connection has become as important for the class in Ukraine as it has for ours.”
The school has matching sets of picture books from Scotland’s Read Write Count with the First Minister scheme, which Tim gifted to the Ukrainian school during his training trip to Poland. Each week, both classes pick a book, read it in their own classrooms, and share creative activities on their video call.
Since January 2025, the UK-Ukraine School Partnerships programme has involved 130 schools across the UK and Ukraine, supporting approximately 23,400 young people. It is now expanding to reach a further 300 schools, with an estimated 54,000 pupils expected to benefit.
Speaking about the programme, Claire de Braekeleer, Director, British Council Scotland said: “With the conflict in Ukraine now entering its fifth year, this programme has helped build something very important, lasting connections between young people in Scotland and Ukraine, grounded in shared stories and friendship.
“These partnerships are a wonderful example of what the programme is all about, and the children are discovering that despite the distance and the challenges, they have far more in common than they might have imagined.
“Applications for the next round of the programme are now open, and I’d encourage schools across Scotland to get involved; it’s a meaningful opportunity to build international connections that will stay with young people for the rest of their lives.”
Schools and teachers interested in joining the programme can apply before the deadline on 2 March. To find out more, please visit:
https://www.britishcouncil.org/school-resources/uk-ukraine-partnerships
