On the 20^th of June, Hellesdon High School celebrated World Refugee Day with a series of assemblies designed to celebrate refugee and asylum seekers and explore issues relating to these groups. There was some fantastic engagement from the students who were keen to contribute to their year group’s understanding of what it means to be a refugee. Mr Earl, one of the school’s principals, also took the opportunity to exhibit what the school community has been doing in order to make their school a place of welcome for refugees and asylum seekers. This included participation in the HumaniTea project for Norwich’s Refugee Week, a D&T assignment creating ‘Cups of Welcome’, and the contribution from a number of students to the ‘Norfolk Welcomes’ tapestry, a large patchwork project telling the story of welcome in Norwich which was displayed across the city for Refugee Week. These activities are a small part of the wider movement in the school to become a School of Sanctuary, which is why it was awarded the honour by regional coordinator Ben Margolis during the assembly. The award serves as a tribute to the hard work that Hellesdon High has been doing to creating a welcoming and accepting environment. A special mention must be made to Roz Yassin, whose contributions guided the school to the award.

The assemblies ended with an inspiring video for Refugee Week 2019 made by Year 12 students Ephraim, Alice, Molly, Harvey & Daniel.