"Embracing a multicultural future."
On December 5th 2023, Amelia Goodliffe, Isabelle Ellis, Isla Mills and Illia Dniprovskyi spoke on behalf of Aylsham High School about being a School of Sanctuary, and about the importance of welcoming refugee students into the schools and countries in which they seek sanctuary.
The students spoke in an online forum involving schools from all over Europe, organised by the British Council's EU UK Stronger Together Project. The aim of the forum was to inspire young people to get involved in creating a culture of welcome for refugees in their schools and communities.
Our students were one of three schools chosen to speak alongside the Experimental Intercultural High School of Athens, Greece, and the Apeitio Gymnasium in Limassol, Cyprus. As a School of Sanctuary, this made us extremely proud to be representing the UK, and we were especially proud to have Illia speaking for us about his experience since joining Aylsham High School after arriving from Ukraine a few years ago.
Isla Mills started by explaining our journey to becoming a School of Sanctuary, including an explanation of how a culture of welcome fits into our school's code of conduct (respecting ourselves, each other, and the environment) and also reflects the school's commitment to co-operative values and ethical values including social responsibility and caring for others. Isla talked about our exceptional EAL support provided by Mrs Findlay and our SEND team, and explained that as Norfolk is not the most diverse county, the Harbour Club are keen to help educate our community around issues surrounding forced migration. Isla spoke about the Harbour Club being a safe-space for everyone, and explained it is one of many safe-spaces around the school.
Isabelle Ellis followed by explaining how important it is to soften the transition for new students, as high school is challenging even before the added process of moving countries. She spoke about the importance of learning from each other and from people who have 'seen more than us,' and said wisely that the important thing is 'being friendly and putting ourselves in other people's shoes.' The fact that the Harbour Club is student-led is significant and Isabelle explained that this meant that students are able to 'understand each other' and 'explore' the world together from a place of understanding due to their age.
Amelia Goodliffe then spoke about our desire to continue spreading awareness of our diverse community, including the fact that we speak over 40 languages as a school. Amelia mentioned our staff and student interviews on this website and explained that we wish to demonstrate that we all have different stories. Amelia talked about the plans to work with local primaries and to continue collecting stories and languages so that we can develop a world map to illustrate our diversity.
Illia Dniprovskyi then spoke about his experience since coming to Aylsham. He began in year six in our federation primary, Bure Valley School, and then came to Aylsham High School in year 7. Illia spoke about how welcome he has felt since arriving, and how he has enjoyed being able to learn new things and get better at English. He told the forum that he has made many friends and would like to continue his studies here in the future. The panelists congratulated him on his English and we felt very proud to be able to hear his thoughts and share them with other schools in Europe to show how transitions can be made easier with love and care.
Here's what the students had to say about their experience:
Amelia
I really enjoyed listening to all the amazing people talk about how we can make refugees more welcome and embracing a multicultural future. To begin with, the British Council introduced their panel, which included Yuliia Fediv, Culture and Media manager and member of the supervisory board of the Ukrainian Institute, and winner of the UN Women Awards 2021; award-winning Syrian journalist Zaina Erham; and the founders of a Day of Welcome in the UK Jake Rose-Brown from Avenue Junior School in Norwich and Jannette Baxter, Professor of Modern and Contemporary Literature at Anglia Ruskin.
We heard people talk about using the arts to make people feel welcome, and heard the opinions of the panel who felt it was important to humanise people and end negative narratives. It was an educational experience and it taught me a lot.
Isabelle
I found it interesting to see all the different countries' opinions on migrants and refugees and how to make people welcome. It was a very fun and enjoyable experience and I will always remember it.
What I got out of it most was that expressive arts can really help refugees to find themselves in their new countries. Food, music and art can bring people together. It was also interesting to hear from one of the panelists about her experience of being a refugee in London and all the challenges she faced.
The students spoke in an online forum involving schools from all over Europe, organised by the British Council's EU UK Stronger Together Project. The aim of the forum was to inspire young people to get involved in creating a culture of welcome for refugees in their schools and communities.
Our students were one of three schools chosen to speak alongside the Experimental Intercultural High School of Athens, Greece, and the Apeitio Gymnasium in Limassol, Cyprus. As a School of Sanctuary, this made us extremely proud to be representing the UK, and we were especially proud to have Illia speaking for us about his experience since joining Aylsham High School after arriving from Ukraine a few years ago.
Isla Mills started by explaining our journey to becoming a School of Sanctuary, including an explanation of how a culture of welcome fits into our school's code of conduct (respecting ourselves, each other, and the environment) and also reflects the school's commitment to co-operative values and ethical values including social responsibility and caring for others. Isla talked about our exceptional EAL support provided by Mrs Findlay and our SEND team, and explained that as Norfolk is not the most diverse county, the Harbour Club are keen to help educate our community around issues surrounding forced migration. Isla spoke about the Harbour Club being a safe-space for everyone, and explained it is one of many safe-spaces around the school.
Isabelle Ellis followed by explaining how important it is to soften the transition for new students, as high school is challenging even before the added process of moving countries. She spoke about the importance of learning from each other and from people who have 'seen more than us,' and said wisely that the important thing is 'being friendly and putting ourselves in other people's shoes.' The fact that the Harbour Club is student-led is significant and Isabelle explained that this meant that students are able to 'understand each other' and 'explore' the world together from a place of understanding due to their age.
Amelia Goodliffe then spoke about our desire to continue spreading awareness of our diverse community, including the fact that we speak over 40 languages as a school. Amelia mentioned our staff and student interviews on this website and explained that we wish to demonstrate that we all have different stories. Amelia talked about the plans to work with local primaries and to continue collecting stories and languages so that we can develop a world map to illustrate our diversity.
Illia Dniprovskyi then spoke about his experience since coming to Aylsham. He began in year six in our federation primary, Bure Valley School, and then came to Aylsham High School in year 7. Illia spoke about how welcome he has felt since arriving, and how he has enjoyed being able to learn new things and get better at English. He told the forum that he has made many friends and would like to continue his studies here in the future. The panelists congratulated him on his English and we felt very proud to be able to hear his thoughts and share them with other schools in Europe to show how transitions can be made easier with love and care.
Here's what the students had to say about their experience:
Amelia
I really enjoyed listening to all the amazing people talk about how we can make refugees more welcome and embracing a multicultural future. To begin with, the British Council introduced their panel, which included Yuliia Fediv, Culture and Media manager and member of the supervisory board of the Ukrainian Institute, and winner of the UN Women Awards 2021; award-winning Syrian journalist Zaina Erham; and the founders of a Day of Welcome in the UK Jake Rose-Brown from Avenue Junior School in Norwich and Jannette Baxter, Professor of Modern and Contemporary Literature at Anglia Ruskin.
We heard people talk about using the arts to make people feel welcome, and heard the opinions of the panel who felt it was important to humanise people and end negative narratives. It was an educational experience and it taught me a lot.
Isabelle
I found it interesting to see all the different countries' opinions on migrants and refugees and how to make people welcome. It was a very fun and enjoyable experience and I will always remember it.
What I got out of it most was that expressive arts can really help refugees to find themselves in their new countries. Food, music and art can bring people together. It was also interesting to hear from one of the panelists about her experience of being a refugee in London and all the challenges she faced.