Supporting Refugees and Asylum Seekers
The school has supported initiatives which welcome Ukrainian refugees into the community. Some examples include:
Norwich School Partnership with English+ and New Routes
Through its Amnesty International co-curricular club, the school and its pupils have built up a strong relationship with two local charities, English+ and New Routes.
English+ and New Routes are two Norfolk based charities that assist with the integration of refugees who are placed in the county. Through immersive English workshops and sightseeing trips, the charities help to make refugees feel better integrated to their surroundings, also providing help in the form of practical advice and Welcome Packs of food and household supplies.
Lower Sixth form Community Service placements give the opportunity for pupils to volunteer at English classes and to help deliver English lessons to adults and children.
The school's Amnesty group also regularly raise money to support refugees living in Norfolk. In 2020-21 they funded and volunteered on 8 sailing trips for refugee families, giving 64 individuals an opportunity to experience sailing and the Norfolk Broads for the first time.
The group have also organised two whole-school donation drives for household and cleaning supplies to be made into welcome packs for refugees arriving with nothing.
The Amnesty group also led a special dance flash mob in collaboration with English Plus. They performed the viral ‘Jerusalema’ dance challenge at locations across Norwich, including outside City Hall, the Forum, NCFC’s Lotus Dome training ground and, of course, Norwich Cathedral.
The event hoped to raise awareness of World Refugee Week. The dance troupe was made up of Norwich School pupils, staff and children from the refugee community in Norwich. Dance video here: https://youtu.be/5JEFwlyVuhs
Family Fun Day for Ukrainian Families
On 9th July the school organised a Family Fun Day for refugees from Ukraine who have recently arrived in Norfolk.
The school has been touched by the response from the local community in welcoming Ukrainian refugees into their homes and wanted to provide an opportunity for guests and their hosts to join in a day of fun. Having worked closely with local refugee charity English+ for many years, the school was aware of a need for some activities for the families recently arrived in Norfolk from Ukraine.
The school was also able to consult with Norfolk County Council's People From Abroad Team, who were invaluable in advertising the event to families.
The school opened up its ground and buildings for the event, which included a BBQ and cakes, inflatables and sports games for children. The event was funded and staffed by the Norwich School community. There was also a sale of sunflowers grown in the school garden, to raise funds for English+.
The event was attended by 100 families and their hosts, many of whom had the opportunity to meet others for the first time. Local charities were also able to spread awareness of their services and to find out which activities are most needed.
Teen Ukrainian Refugee Group - Christmas Celebrations
Since the summer of 2022, Norwich School has hosted and helped facilitate a fortnightly social group for Ukrainian teen refugees in partnership with Norfolk County Council.
In December, our Common Room was transformed into a festive wonderland for the final Ukraine Teen Group gathering of the year. The group is a place for teens to come from across the county to socialise and take part in activities. The group has had nearly 60 attendees over the duration of the sessions and some wonderful friendships have been formed.
The Christmas Party was a huge success with massive thanks going to the school's electrician, who transformed the room into a festive grotto. The event was also helped by the Friends Of Norwich School who kindly supported a funding request for the group, and the group were able to use to some of the funding for some traditional party food which was a huge treat.
The school has been delighted to offer their support to this group and have also been working with English Plus to support the Conversation Cafe, which supports Ukrainian families and other asylum seeking families with conversation skills. Thank you to everyone who has been involved, we look forward to helping in the future.
Coversation Cafe for refugee and asylum seeker families with English+ Charity
Since the summer of 2023, Norwich Schook has been holding a Conversation Cafe with local refugee charity English+. Begun as a response to the war in Ukraine, the cafe initially served predominantly Ukrainian refugees who were looking to improve their English. The informal sessions now welcome members from all around the world who are recent arrivals in Norfolk and is run in conjunction with English+, a local charity working with refugee and asylum seekers in the county.
With the help of Upper and Lower 6 volunteers, we have steered the group through some common linguistic situations such as job-hunting tips, and day-to-day greetings. The advanced group also had a fun lesson on Cockney rhyming slang.
