RefugEAP Network

Pal-EAP Scheme

This section outlines the Pal-EAP scheme, which is a way in which we are supporting students from Gaza to meet the English language conditions of their UK university offers, as a means of offering solidarity and practical support during the ongoing genocide in Gaza. This web page is in the process of being updated ahead of Summer 2026

Quick links

For Students from Gaza

Use our Pal-EAP Flowchart to Identify a Suitable Option for You

Template Email to UK Universities Asking for Flexibility

Request a Free Pal-EAP Online English Language Test Code

For UK Universities

Flexibility Guidelines for UKVI Highly Trusted Sponsor Universities

Pal-EAP Pre-Sessional Guidance Notes for UK Universities (2026 version coming soon)

The Pal-EAP Scheme: Information for Universities and Potential Participants

A bit of background

The RefugEAP Network has been running the Pal-EAP Scheme since the summer of 2024, to support UK university offer-holders from Gaza to meet the English language conditions of their offers, to enable them to take up their places on their degree programmes. To date, dozens of students have been supported through the scheme, and, as a result, at least five students have (to our knowledge) been able to evacuate from Gaza and begin their studies in the UK or Ireland. One such student is Ibrahim Aldalis, who wrote a testimonial about his experiences.

What is the Pal-EAP Scheme?

Pal-EAP takes a multi-pronged approach to supporting students from Gaza to meet the English language conditions of their UK university offers. The main tenets are as follows:

advocating for UK universities to exercise more flexibility in the type of English language evidence they will accept, in line with their status as UKVI Highly Trusted Sponsors. To this end, we have worked with the Gaza Scholarship Initiative to create a document entitled Pal-EAP-GSI Guidelines for Universities: Flexibility in evidencing English language level for Palestinian applicants to UK, which has been disseminated widely among UK universities and has resulted in flexibility being exercised in a number of cases
offering free English language test codes to students from Gaza for the Duolingo English Test and the Oxford English Language Level Test, which are two of the main tests which are still currently accessible from Gaza (under favourable conditions)
working with UK universities to offer free places to Palestinian students on online pre-sessional academic English programmes in the summer of 2026. Details of how to express interest in this scheme will be available here shortly

What are pre-sessional programmes, and what do they lead to?

Pre-sessional programmes are typically intensive courses which prepare students for study at a UK university by focusing on improving academic English skills. These are not primarily language courses; they focus more on academic language skills such as speaking in seminar discussions, listening to lectures, extracting key points from academic articles and writing an effective essay using sources appropriately. They are mainly aimed at students who want to start an undergraduate or postgraduate course at university, but who first need to improve and evidence their level of academic English and skills.

Pre-sessional programmes will give people valuable academic English skills to succeed at university. They should also provide a certificate at the end which indicates what level was achieved. If this level is high enough to join an academic programme, and if that programme is at the same university as the pre-sessional, they should accept this certificate as proof that you meet the English language requirement for that programme. If a student has applied to study at a different university, we recommend checking with them whether they are happy to accept the pre-sessional certificate from another university as proof of English language level.

What are the eligibility criteria for pre-sessional applicants?

This opportunity is for Palestinian students and lecturers. In view of the urgency of the situation, applicants from Gaza will be given priority, but all Palestinian students and academics who meet the requirements below are welcome to apply. Applicants should:

already have a conditional offer of a place at a UK university or on a Fellowship scheme, but have not yet met the English language requirement

already have an English proficiency level of at least IELTS 5.5 (or B2 or above). If you don’t have evidence of this already, you can take a free online English test and share the results with us – please see below for details

have access to a laptop/computer, relatively reliable electricity/internet connection, and a relatively safe/quiet place to study (we understand that it is difficult to predict these conditions at the moment)

be able to commit to attending an intensive online programme for a number of weeks in the summer of 2025, including both live classes and asynchronous study

Frequently Asked Questions for pre-sessional applicants

If you are a Palestinian student or academic considering studying on a pre-sessional programme, please read the following Frequently Asked Questions to see if this type of course is suitable for you:

Do I really need to do a pre-sessional programme? If you already have the required level of English to start your degree programme/scholarship/fellowship, but you just need to demonstrate it formally, it may be better for you to take an English language test such as the Duolingo English Test rather than joining a pre-sessional programme. Duolingo issues free test codes for displaced people through participating organisations. To request a code, please use the form for participants below
Are these courses face-to-face or online? All of the programmes on offer via this initiative are online
How much work do they involve? These courses are typically intensive and require a lot of independent study outside class time. Please only apply if you are in a situation in which you can do this
What are the tech requirements? To access these courses, you typically need to have access to: a good wifi connection, reliable electricity, a computer, microphone, speakers and a webcam. You cannot usually access these courses on a mobile phone
Will there be live sessions? There will usually be a mix of live online classes and asynchronous self-study activities (some of which could be completed off-line)
What is the deadline for applying? As different universities have different deadlines for applications to their pre-sessionals, the deadlinefor signing up to this Pal-EAP scheme is rolling, but the earlier we receive your applications, the more chance we have of being able to place you this summer
How do I demonstrate my level of English when I apply? If you do not know your English language level, or do not have evidence of your level (such as an IELTS certificate or transcript), please complete one of the following mini-assessments and attach the transcript or screenshot of your results via the form below, so we get a rough idea of your level. If your level is B2, C1 or C2, a university that you apply to may be able to offer you a chance to take a fuller online assessment:
- the 50-minute EF SET test: https://www.efset.org/ef-set-50/launch/ (this will test your reading and listening skills)
- the EnglishScore assessment on this British Council web page: https://www.britishcouncil.org/english/learn-online/englishscore (this is a 40-minute test that you can take on your mobile phone – you need a working camera and microphone)
- if you are unable to check your level using one of the tests above, please try this shorter Cambridge English test instead: https://www.cambridgeenglish.org/test-your-english/general-english/ (this does not require a camera or microphone)
What if I don’t meet the requirements to join a pre-sessional programme? Depending on what you need, you could:
- if you need to improve your level of English, join a less demanding English language programme, such as ELT Professionals for Palestine’s English tutoring programme, or another scheme listed in this ELT for Palestine Padlet
- if you are at the right level of English language proficiency and just need to demonstrate this, fill in this form and specify this in Section 8. We will then see if we can find an opportunity for you to take a suitable test (we can’t guarantee that we will be able to do this, but we will try!).

Guidance for Universities

Before deciding whether to participate in this opportunity, it is helpful to consider the information in the following docuent: Pal-EAP Scheme (Summer 2025): Guidelines for Universities.

The main points to highlight are:

there is not a great deal of additional work/administration involved in participating in this initiative, but some flexibility is likely to be required
ensure that the teachers who are working with this student are able to be empathetic, flexible and trauma-informed, and that they are well-supported by your department
for universities looking to become a University of Sanctuary or sign up to the UNHCR’s 15by30 pledge, this scheme will stand them in good stead. Universities participating in Pal-EAP can also sign up to the RefugEAP Network’s joint pledge (submitted at the Global Refugee Forum in Geneva in December 2023) via this form.