About Svitlo
A free online school for Ukrainian children, run by a UK charity and taught in English by volunteers from around the world.
Support SvitloWho we are
Svitlo School is a free online school for Ukrainian children aged 10 to 18, in Ukraine and wherever the war has taken them. Lessons are taught in English by volunteer teachers from around the world, many of them native speakers, and organised by a team of Ukrainians, many of them refugees in the UK. Svitlo means "light" in Ukrainian.
We are run by Svitlo Education, a registered charity in England and Wales (no. 1201542). Our mission is to educate the future political, social and business leaders of Ukraine: confident, open-minded citizens ready to rebuild their country and build lasting ties with Europe and the rest of the world.
Svitlo in numbers
Scholarships counted from Sep 2022 to Jul 2024.
Why we teach
The war has touched the lives of millions of Ukrainian children. They study in shelters, live through power cuts and have lost touch with friends and family. History has many examples of wars that were won while people were never educated for democracy, trade and diplomacy. Our school vision is Compassion, Curiosity, Inspiration, and we teach for four reasons:
Stability
Better English
Skills for life
Future leaders
How Svitlo started
Svitlo's founder, Yuliya Kosko, is a Ukrainian education expert living in the UK. On 14 March 2022, less than three weeks after the full-scale invasion began, she organised a few English lessons by native speakers for children in Zaporizhzhia.
Those lessons grew into an online community of learning, sharing and support: thousands of pupils, a team of Ukrainian helpers and more than 60 volunteer teachers. Many pupils now call Svitlo a second family.
Milestones
From a few English lessons to a school with its own summer schools, scholarships and graduates.
March 2022
The first English lessons, for children in Zaporizhzhia.
Summer 2023
17 pupils win free places at partner summer schools in the UK and US.
February 2024
The largest school assembly for Ukraine, held with NAHT, with talks from three of our pupils.
Summer 2024
27 pupils attend partner summer schools.
Today
Free lessons every week, summer schools every year and a programme for our graduates.
What we do
Free lessons are only the start. Find out more about our programmes and school life.
Our partners
Svitlo would not exist without the schools, companies and organisations that support us. They give our pupils scholarships, summer school places, free tools and English tests.
Find out more about Svitlo School
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