Syrian Community Support

Each Sunday Brighton College pupils and staff work with Syrian Refugees and other non-native English speaking refugees and migrants to learn English, practise conversational English and prepare for the Life in the UK citizenship test.

Aims

Each Sunday Brighton College pupils and staff work with Syrian Refugees and other non-native English speaking refugees and migrants to learn English, practise conversational English and prepare for the Life in the UK citizenship test.

Background

In 2015, Brighton College offered two Syrian teenagers scholarships. Two years later, both achieved a string of A* successes at A-level and places to study medicine at university. Since 2015 Brighton College have worked closely with the Syrian Community to provide a venue for community events, language and educational support, a venue for their Arabic school for younger children and help to pass the citizenship test.

Resources

IELTS and other EAL resources prepared by BC staff, a large venue, BC pupils and staff members. Each member of the refugee community gets reimbursed for their public transport costs (£5 per adult) and volunteer Arabic teachers have a budget from which to photocopy and buy resources.

Impact

We regularly have over 30 adults from the Syrian Community in attendance, and over 25 younger children attend Arabic lessons with Syrian volunteer teachers. Many families from the community are now British citizens, having passed the Life in the UK test. We also see referrals to our Sunday community sessions from local charities such as Voices in Exile and Sanctuary on Sea. Pupil volunteers show increased confidence and have developed teaching and planning skills. Pupil volunteers show greater awareness of issues relating to migrants and refugees and are increasingly vocal in advocating for them.

Pupil Involvement

Over 40 pupils from all year groups at Brighton College volunteer for the project.

Frequency

Every Sunday during term time.