The first of September 2026 opens the academic year, in which the reform of the senior school expands to 150 lyceums and for the first time affects specific tenth-graders. The preschool also changes, and security rules remain part of the daily schedule. Parents of future tenth-graders, first-graders, and preschoolers should understand what innovations are coming into effect and who they will affect this fall.
150 lyceums join the senior school reform
The Ministry of Education and Science has identified 150 lyceums in various regions that will join the second stage of the senior school reform pilot from September 1, 2026. The first stage last year covered 30 institutions, now the circle of participants is expanding several times. For some students in grades 10-12 in these lyceums, training in a new way will start from the beginning of the school year.
The reform introduces a three-year senior school, where the tenth, eleventh, and twelfth grades become a separate stage with in-depth study of subjects. The full deployment for all schools is planned later: the first stream of the New Ukrainian School will sit in the tenth grade with updated approaches on September 1, 2027, and the first graduation of the profiled senior school is expected in the summer of 2030. This year’s 150 lyceums are working out a model that will later be used by the entire country.
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Profile and subject selection as the basis of profiled school
The key idea of the reform is to give students more opportunities to independently form their educational path. In lyceums, high school students will choose a profile, for example, mathematical, philological, or natural science, and within it – individual subjects and courses, including those outside the chosen direction. This approach ties the schedule to the child’s interests and plans for their future profession or admission.
Education in grades 10-12 will take place in separate institutions – academic lyceums. The planning of the network takes into account accessibility: most institutions will be located within 10-20 kilometers from the students’ place of residence, the maximum limit is up to 30 kilometers. The transportation of children is organized and paid for by local authorities, and where the distance exceeds the norm, boarding schools will be created at lyceums. This logistics should make profiled education accessible to villages and small communities on an equal basis with large cities.
“Education for Life” changes the content of programs
The structural transformation of the senior school is accompanied by an update of the content of educational programs within the framework of the “Education for Life” policy. Its goal is to tie school material to practical skills needed by a person in real-life situations. The piloting of new content is gradually covering middle classes and several educational fields.
For families, this means that familiar subjects may change their focus, and some of the material will move to the format of projects and applied tasks. Attention to these changes helps parents support their child during the transition and understand why homework or tests look different from last year.
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English becomes compulsory in kindergartens
Changes affect the youngest. From September 1, 2026, English language becomes a compulsory subject in preschool institutions. The decision continues the line of early language immersion and prepares children for enhanced study of foreign languages in school. Classes for preschoolers are built in a game format, focused on listening and pronunciation, without academic load characteristic of older classes.
For educators and parents, the innovation adds a new component to the schedule, and institutions update programs according to the standard of preschool education. A child who hears English in kindergarten comes to the first grade with basic sound experience, which later facilitates the start of formal education.
Security remains part of the schedule
War realities keep security issues at the center of organizing education. Schools work taking into account shelters, and some institutions combine face-to-face classes with distance learning depending on the security situation in the region. The right to independently determine the schedule of holidays remains with institutions, so the dates of vacations differ between regions and even individual schools.
Forms of education retain flexibility. Families can choose daytime education, and if necessary – extramural, family, or home-based education, and pedagogical patronage. This variability allows you to adapt education to the circumstances of a particular child, including those who are abroad or in regions with restrictions.
What does it mean for parents this fall
The 2026/2027 academic year affects different families in different ways. Parents of tenth-graders from the list of pilot lyceums should figure out profiles and lists of subjects in advance, as the choice forms the schedule for three years. Families of preschoolers meet the new English, and all, without exception, plan a year considering security rules and flexible vacations. Understanding these changes before the first bell removes most of the questions that usually arise already in the process, when the education is in full swing.
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