Refugee Education UK
Refugee Education UK is a UK charity that supports refugee and asylum-seeking young people aged 14–25 through mentoring, practitioner training, youth advocacy, and research, funded by donations, grants, and training fees.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2010
- HeadquartersLondon, United Kingdom
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B and B2C
- OfferingServices
What Refugee Education UK does
Refugee Education UK (REUK) is a UK-registered charity founded in 2010 (originally as Refugee Support Network, rebranded in 2016) that supports refugee and asylum-seeking children and young people aged 14–25 in accessing, thriving in, and progressing through education. The organisation delivers direct services through its Educational Mentoring Programme — weekly one-to-one support with English, homework, and confidence building, currently operating across six hubs in North, South, East and West London, Oxford, and Birmingham — alongside a Changemakers youth advocacy programme, an Education Professionals Network, an Education Advice Service, and a Research and Policy function. REUK also sells practitioner training, including a free 'Supporting Refugee Students in Schools' webinar and paid modules on access to further education, access to higher education, and City of Sanctuary accreditation, typically priced at £75 per person per module. The business model is a hybrid of charitable donations, individual and corporate fundraising, modest training fees, and grant-funded and commissioned research from partners such as the National Lottery Community Fund, UNICEF UK, The Bell Foundation, the Office for National Statistics, and several UK universities. There is no proprietary technology platform; service delivery is human-led, with digital channels used primarily for communications, bookings, and dissemination of research and policy outputs. REUK is led by Chief Executive Catherine Gladwell and governed as an independent charity (charity number 1132509, company number 06879651) headquartered at International House, 101 King's Cross Road, London.
Refugee Education UK firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Refugee Education UK
- Legal name
- Refugee Education UK
- Website
- https://reuk.org
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2010
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Refugee Education UK is a UK charity that supports refugee and asylum-seeking young people aged 14–25 through mentoring, practitioner training, youth advocacy, and research, funded by donations, grants, and training fees.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Refugee Education UK industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Education Support Services
- NAICS
- Educational Support Services (611710), Educational Support Services (6117), Educational Services (611), Educational Support Services (61171)
- SIC
- Services-Educational Services (8200), Services-Social Services (8300)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Newcomer & Refugee Student Support Programs (EDAJAGAH)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Immigrant & Refugee Community Education (Integration/Navigation) (EDAAAFAH), Immigrant & Refugee Workforce Integration Programs (EDAAAOAJ), Refugee & Immigrant Support Services (BPAGAEAI), Refugee, Crisis & Humanitarian Education Partnerships (EiE) (EDADALAG)
Keywords
Where Refugee Education UK is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- London
- HQ country
- United Kingdom
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices1 record
Markets served
Refugee Education UK business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B and B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others
Revenue model
- Donations and fundraising: Charitable donations from individual supporters, trust funds, and foundations. Fundraising events include challenges such as cycling Land's End to John O'Groats and ultra-marathons.
- Training fees: Some training programmes are provided free (Supporting Refugee Students in Schools), while paid training sessions (Access to Further Education, Access to Higher Education, City of Sanctuary modules) are priced at £75 per person per module.
- Grants and commissioned research: Partnerships with funders such as National Lottery Community Fund for youth advocacy programmes, and commissioned research with organisations including UNICEF UK, The Bell Foundation, and universities.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Freemium | One time | Supporting Refugee Students in Schools - Free training for educators |
| Subscription | Multi-year contract | Access to Further Education training |
| Subscription | Multi-year contract | Access to Higher Education training |
| Subscription | Multi-year contract | City of Sanctuary Training modules |
| Other | Multi-year contract | Bespoke in-house training |
Go-to-market motion3 records
Distribution channels5 records
Marketing channels7 records
Refugee Education UK product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Refugee Education UK provides direct educational support, mentoring, and advice services to young refugees and asylum seekers aged 14-25 in the UK, alongside practitioner training, a membership network for educators, and research and policy advocacy. Core paid offerings centre on training courses (free introductory webinars and £75-per-person modules covering further and higher education access and City of Sanctuary accreditation), while direct youth services are provided free of charge. The charity also conducts commissioned research for funders such as UNICEF UK, The Bell Foundation, and the Office for National Statistics.
Product overview
Refugee Education UK operates as a charitable organization offering a portfolio of interconnected services supporting refugee and asylum-seeking children and young people in UK education. The core offerings include the Educational Mentoring Programme providing weekly one-to-one support in London, Oxford, and Birmingham; the Changemakers youth advocacy programme; and the Education Professionals Network membership. Training programmes cover supporting refugee students in schools, access to further education, access to higher education, and City of Sanctuary accreditation, with both free and £75 per person paid options. The organization also provides an education advice service and produces extensive research and policy publications. Bespoke training is available for organizations with specific needs.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Educational Mentoring Programme Weekly one-to-one educational mentoring pairing trained volunteer mentors with young refugees and asylum seekers aged 14-25 for English language support, homework help, exam preparation, and confidence building. Currently operates in North London, South London, East London, West London, Oxford, and West Midlands (Birmingham), with young people referred by teachers, social workers, or key workers.
- Changemakers Programme Youth advocacy and leadership programme for refugee and asylum seeker young people aged 16-25, enabling participants to influence education policy, lead research projects, run advocacy campaigns, co-facilitate training, and develop professional skills across Northern Ireland, Scotland, Wales, and the North of England.
- Education Professionals Network Membership network for educators working with refugee and asylum-seeking learners, providing bi-monthly briefings, monthly online peer support sessions, training opportunities, and practical resources. Open to teachers, tutors, pastoral and inclusion staff, local authority workers, and community organisation staff.
- Supporting Refugee Students in Schools Training Free one-hour training webinar with Q&A for primary and secondary school teachers and college staff, providing an introduction to supporting refugee students, outlining educational implications of displacement experiences, and sharing practical strategies and free resources.
- Access to Further Education Training Two-part training consisting of an asynchronous online module followed by an interactive session, covering further education pathways, funding entitlements, eligibility for different immigration statuses, and guidelines for supporting college enrolment. Priced at £75 per person.
- Access to Higher Education Training Training for practitioners supporting displaced young people pursuing university, covering immigration statuses, barriers to education, higher education entitlements, and concrete support resources with interactive case studies. Currently delivered online at £75 per person.
- City of Sanctuary Training Collaborative training suite with City of Sanctuary for Further Education colleges covering three modules: M1 overview and introduction, M2 planning for positive enrolment, and M3 planning for academic success. Helps colleges fulfil criteria for College of Sanctuary accreditation. Priced at £75 per person per module.
- Bespoke Training Tailored in-house training delivered online or in person to meet organisation-specific needs for supporting refugee and asylum-seeking learners, available by contacting [email protected].
- Education Advice Service Advice service for young people from refugee or asylum-seeking backgrounds, or those supporting them, providing guidance on education pathways. Delivered via an online enquiry form with response from the education advice team. The service does not provide scholarships, financial grants, or legal advice on asylum or immigration matters.
- Research and Policy Publications Extensive portfolio of research publications covering refugee education topics including early childhood education, secondary education, further and higher education access, apprenticeships, international projects in Chad, Uganda, and Zambia, and policy recommendations for UK education system change. Available for download and used to drive change at local, national, and international levels.
Quantifiable outcome
- 111 hours of 1:1 mentoring sessions funded from a single fundraising initiative (£5,548)
- +4 more outcomes
Companies that use Refugee Education UK
Customer profileNamed customers1 record
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Refugee Education UK technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Refugee Education UK partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- Jigsaw EducationcorePartnership on research project exploring how national, regional, and global approaches to including refugee teachers can be scaled to strengthen their agency and wellbeing in Chad, Uganda, and Zambia. REUK team members travelled to Uganda in December 2025 to deliver training in research methods to refugee teachers participating in the project.
- City of SanctuarycoreCollaboration to develop a suite of training modules to help Further Education colleges grow in their confidence and expertise to support refugee and asylum-seeking students. Training helps colleges fulfil criteria to receive College of Sanctuary accreditation.
- University of NottinghamcoreMultiple research partnerships including ASPIRE (A Sustainable Place for Inclusive Refugee Education) using participatory methodology led by learners with asylum-seeking and refugee backgrounds, and STRIVE (Sustainable Transformative Inclusive Refugee Education) drawing on extensive research of educational policy and provision for refugee learners.
- University of WarwickcorePartnership with the English and Comparative Literary Studies Department to develop a research-led access to Higher Education pilot programme for sanctuary seekers in Coventry (Getting AHEAD programme) and to explore the journey to university for refugee and asylum-seeking young people (Finding Their Way research).
- The Bell FoundationcoreFunded research on access to education for late arrivals - young people aged 13-19 forcibly displaced and arriving in the UK late in the education system. Commissioned in response to increased interest from policy makers and practitioners.
- UNICEF UKcorePartnership on multiple research initiatives including early childhood education and care for youngest refugee and asylum-seeking children in England, and education transitions for young refugees and asylum seekers. REUK developed advice sheets designed to help practitioners better support refugee and asylum-seeking young people's education.
- RoutesminorCollaboration on policy brief 'Preventing skilled contributions: how young refugees are locked out of apprenticeships' presenting simple and effective policy recommendations to unlock apprenticeship funding for refugees.
- EdTech HubminorPartnership supported by UK government and World Bank. REUK produced rapid evidence reviews on the use of technology in refugee education, education in emergencies, and girls' education as education decision-makers responded to COVID-19 educational challenges.
- UNHCRminorPartnership on Voices of Refugee Youth research study focusing on the impact of post-primary education in emergencies in Pakistan and Rwanda. Linked to UNHCR's efforts to support post-primary education for refugees and host communities.
- Office for National Statistics (ONS)coreCommissioned along with National Institute of Economic and Social Research (NIESR) to conduct a study asking displaced young people about their experiences in England - the first of its kind from the ONS. Conducted with seven peer researchers undertaking over 90 interviews.
- Oxfordshire County CouncilminorCommissioned research exploring experiences of displaced children and young people in secondary schools in Oxfordshire, providing evidence to inform local intervention.
Scale indicators6 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Refugee Education UK competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- IntoUniversity: UK education charity running local education centres that support young people from disadvantaged backgrounds to progress into higher education. Closely comparable operating model (community hubs, mentoring, university access), though serving a broader disadvantaged cohort rather than refugees specifically.
- City of Sanctuary: UK-wide network supporting 'sanctuary' accreditation for local authorities, FE colleges, schools and other organisations. Active existing partner of REUK (co-developed City of Sanctuary training modules) and a clear comparator for the sanctuary-accreditation training niche.
- Article 26: UK charity specifically dedicated to supporting asylum seekers and refugees to access higher education through scholarships, advice and research. Most direct comparator to REUK's higher education access programme and student mentoring.
- Hope for the Young: UK charity providing educational grants, mentoring and family support to young refugees and asylum seekers. Closely matches REUK's 14-25 age focus and mentoring/education support model.
Broad incumbents
- Refugee Action: UK charity providing advice, advocacy and integration support for refugees and asylum seekers. Comparable advocacy and casework orientation, with adjacent education-related programming.
- Migrant Help: UK charity delivering advice, advocacy and support services to migrants, refugees and asylum seekers across the UK. Comparable beneficiary population and frontline service delivery, with overlapping training and capacity-building work.
- British Red Cross: Large UK charity running dedicated refugee support services including education and family reunification programmes. Competes for refugee-focused grant funding and donor attention, though education is one of many service lines.
- Refugee Council: Large UK charity providing advice, advocacy and casework for refugees and asylum seekers across housing, legal, health and education. Overlaps with REUK on refugee education advocacy and policy work, but operates a much broader mandate.
Others
- The Bell Foundation: UK charity focused on language education for excluded communities, including refugees and asylum seekers. Existing funder and research commissioner of REUK; comparable area of practice around ESOL and language barriers in education.
- British Universities International Liaison Association (BUILA): Membership network for UK university staff supporting international and refugee students. Thematically adjacent — comparable to REUK's Education Professionals Network at the higher-education tier and a potential institutional partner/competitor for training contracts.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Refugee Education UK social profiles
Digital presenceRefugee Education UK financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Refugee Education UK leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles1 record
Refugee Education UK funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Refugee Education UK M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Refugee Education UK
What does Refugee Education UK do?
Refugee Education UK provides direct educational support, mentoring, and advice services to young refugees and asylum seekers aged 14-25 in the UK, alongside practitioner training, a membership network for educators, and research and policy advocacy. Core paid offerings centre on training courses (free introductory webinars and £75-per-person modules covering further and higher education access and City of Sanctuary accreditation), while direct youth services are provided free of charge. The charity also conducts commissioned research for funders such as UNICEF UK, The Bell Foundation, and the Office for National Statistics.
Is Refugee Education UK a public or private company?
Refugee Education UK is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was Refugee Education UK founded?
Refugee Education UK was founded in 2010. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Refugee Education UK based?
Refugee Education UK is headquartered in London, United Kingdom, in the Europe region.
How does Refugee Education UK make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Donations and fundraising is the primary driver. The others are training fees and grants and commissioned research.
Who are Refugee Education UK's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are IntoUniversity, City of Sanctuary, Article 26 and Hope for the Young. Broad incumbents are Refugee Action, Migrant Help, British Red Cross and Refugee Council. Others are The Bell Foundation and British Universities International Liaison Association (BUILA).
Does Refugee Education UK have an API?
No public API is recorded for Refugee Education UK.
What industry is Refugee Education UK in?
Refugee Education UK's product category is Education Support Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is EDAJAGAH, Newcomer & Refugee Student Support Programs, with a secondary code of EDAAAFAH, Immigrant & Refugee Community Education (Integration/Navigation). Its NAICS code is 611710 and its SIC code is 8200.