School according to British standards or a money laundering scheme: What is Lviv British School hiding and what does the Prime Minister of Ukraine’s daughter have to do with it?

The United Kingdom has one of the best education systems in the world, and studying at its schools and universities is very prestigious. At the same time, Cambridge and Oxford have their educational programs, which schools in other countries follow. British educators issue licenses to the most prestigious educational institutions, allowing graduates to eventually enter renowned universities.

This is reported in an investigation by Antikor. 

In Ukraine, there are also schools that teach children according to the British education system. One of the newest is the Lviv British school, which, as the name suggests, is located in Lviv. However, it turned out that the school received a British license only after its official opening. Its listed founder is a long-time partner of a former ski instructor who retrained as a teacher, and its "roof" may be connected to the family of Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal.

On the official website of the Lviv British school, it is mentioned that the decision to establish the school was made by the owner back in 2021. The institution opened its doors on September 1, 2023. The founder of the school is declared to be Andrew Fawkes, and the institution offers education according to the Ukrainian program with additional integration of the British one. The Lviv British school has a Cambridge International education program license, which, however, was only issued in December 2023. That means that at least in the first semester, children who started studying at the school from the day it opened were taught without British accreditation. Although from the start of the campus construction, the founders declared it as an educational institution with British education.

Cambridge International education licenses for foreign schools can be checked on the official website of the British program, and Lviv British school is indeed listed there.

The first thing that caught the journalists’ attention, who analyzed the school’s activities in Lviv, was the different spellings of the founder’s first name and last name. In the presentation on the school website, he is listed as "Andy Fawkes," but in the news there, he somehow becomes "Andrew Fox." For a school that positions itself as English-speaking, such varied transliteration of the founder’s name is unacceptable. After all, native speakers are unlikely to "mispronounce" a Briton’s last name, and the transcription will always be the same.

The full name of the founder of Lviv British school in English is Andrew James Fawkes. It is understandable that Andrew might shorten his first name to Andy, but the last name Fawkes is unlikely to transform into Fox.

According to Ukrainian registries, the Private Educational Institution "International School ’Lviv British School’ Lviv" was registered on August 21, 2023. That was just 10 days before its first students started their studies. The authorized capital of the educational institution, which offers Ukrainian children "the best British education," is only 10,000 hryvnias.

Interestingly, Andrew Fawkes became the founder of the Lviv British school only in October 2023. The first founder was Strana Hanna. According to court records, this woman, as of July 2024, worked as a lawyer at the private educational institution "Chernivtsi Lyceum Astor."

The Astor network of schools is well-known to Andrew Fawkes because, according to his LinkedIn page, he has been one of the directors there since June 2023.

 

Among the founders of Lviv British school, besides Fawkes, is the company "International British School LTD," which owns 100% of the legal entity of the Lviv school. The British register reports that this company was registered in London in April 2023. One of its directors is the same Andrew Fawkes.

According to the company’s report, as of April 30, 2024, its main assets amounted to 5,043 pounds sterling, and the bank account held just under 11.5 thousand pounds.

Among other owners of International British School LTD is the company Inter Education LTD, registered at the same address. In August 2023, the same London office also registered the company Lviv British School LTD. As one might guess, it’s managed by Andrew Fawkes. According to the firm’s report from August 2023 to August 2024, it had an authorized capital of 100 pounds sterling and "zero" hired employees.

The London Inter Education LTD is also not foreign to Andrew Fawkes, as it is listed as his main workplace on his LinkedIn page. There is no mention of Lviv British school, where he is the official founder. As of September 2023, Inter Education LTD had 1,528 pounds in its bank account and another 6,480 pounds in credits.

The founder of Inter Education LTD is noted as the Ukrainian with British residency, Andriy Pilleroa Maddan.

 

At the same time, he is the director of Astor school, which has several branches in Ukraine and Europe.

This network of private institutions receives very mixed reviews from parents. Some imply that the turnover of teaching staff in their schools is just crazy, and the level of education does not meet the stated standards. Furthermore, one branch building, located in the "Slavutych" residential complex, was rebuilt without appropriate building permits.

 

"The school supposedly with an English bias, besides the usual English, twice a week with a native speaker. Imagine my surprise at how these lessons are conducted! Indeed - cartoons! The native speaker just plays cartoons, and sits ))... The school does not provide knowledge, the teaching staff is young and weak, administrative mess, and of course, the main thing - the child’s condition!.. I DO NOT RECOMMEND! Do not waste the precious years of your child! Look for a decent school and good teaching staff!" writes a mother whose child studied at an "Astor" school branch.

 

The founder of the "Astor" schools, Andriy Pilleroa Maddan, is known to be a former physical education teacher and founder of several tourist companies that provided services in the Bukovel ski resort. In 2015, the entrepreneur aimed to turn Kherson into the "Arabat Emirates." However, apparently, something did not go as planned, and the former ski instructor retrained into an educator and began opening private educational institutions.

Andriy Pilleroa Maddan’s wife, Mariya, is a lawyer and women’s rights advocate. On her Instagram page, she offers advice on "how to leave an abuser" and how to attend the "Self-worth" course for 390 hryvnias. Her place of residence is listed as Barcelona. 

In 2018, she worked at the National Council of Ukraine on Television and Radio Broadcasting. According to her declaration for the same year, her job was the family’s only income. And this was while her husband Andriy Pilleroa Maddan was already the founder of private schools and kindergartens. For some reason, his income was hidden in the declaration.

Analyzing connections and documents, one conclusion can be drawn that Andriy Pilleroa Maddan, along with Andrew Fawkes, are typical "frontmen," on whom several private schools have been registered, where the education provided does not meet standards. The reviews of their educational projects speak for themselves. Their new project, Lviv British school, despite a "nice wrapping," is evidently organized under an old scheme using charitable contributions and without a transparent ownership structure.

From the typical service agreement at Lviv British school, it was found out that the tuition fee is 32,000 UAH per month. Plus a 20,000 UAH enrollment fee and 199 pounds monthly for learning under the British Cambridge International Curriculum. Payment is made to the school’s charity fund instead of the school’s account.

The fund is managed by the director of the Lviv British school, Olena Chernetska. Such a scheme, involving charitable funds, is typically used for tax minimization. And evidently, this is why the statutory fund of Lviv British School is only 10,000 UAH, which is even less than a month of education for one child at this educational institution.

According to sources, the Lviv British school may be related to the family of the Prime Minister of Ukraine, Denys Shmyhal, particularly his eldest daughter Anna. The girl has long been interested in the educational process, having participated in numerous educational events, including those with the participation of former Minister of Education Lilya Hrynevych. 

Could it be possible that the Prime Minister’s daughter was unaware of joining a school with dubious documents and an educational level? Unlikely. Sources claim that Anna Shmyhal could be the true beneficiary of the Lviv British school, with Andriy Pilleroa Maddan and Andrew Fawkes being used merely as a cover. Confirming or denying this information has not been possible, but at least the Prime Minister’s daughter is following the school’s page on social media.