School of Sanctuary
Schools of Sanctuary at Cantell
A School of Sanctuary is:
- A place that is welcoming to all
- Educates about why people are forcibly displaced
- Recognises that the UK is enriched by new arrivals
- Supports pupils from all backgrounds to feel seen, supported and included.
Cantell has been a School of Sanctuary since 2018. We celebrate the importance of being a school of sanctuary through a series of regular events, such as our annual “Culture Day” as well as students having assemblies on Refugee Week. This is supported by regular staff training on what it means to be a School of Sanctuary and how best we can support students who are seeking sanctuary at Cantell.
Refugee Week
Refugee Week is a UK-wide festival celebrating the contributions, creativity and resilience of refugees and people seeking sanctuary. Founded in 1998 and held every year around World Refugee Day on the 20 June, Refugee Week is also a growing global movement. At Cantell we believe that celebrating Refugee Week is important to highlight to our students the experiences of people who are refugees and how life in the UK is enriched by new arrivals.
The theme for Refugee Week is “Compassion”. In the week beginning 19th June 2023, students will have an assembly to discover what compassion looks like in action, and how we can create a shared understanding of compassion to ensure we are extending it widely to all.
Previous Refugee Week Assemblies
Culture Day
On 12th May 2023, we were thrilled to see the return of our annual Culture Day celebration event. The theme of our event was “celebration, happiness and embracing of identity”. The entire Cantell family took part in a number of events throughout the school day to celebrate their culture and heritage.
- Both students and staff were able to wear clothes that were representative of their culture; this could be a traditional cultural dress, an item of clothing that represented an element of their culture or colours associated with their culture or heritage. Students and staff were then able to get photographs taken on the day on our Culture red carpet.
- A cultural food tasting event took place during our social times in the upper courtyard – students could taste food from around the world as prepared by our talented multicultural staff.
- Traditional music from a range of cultures was played as the students arrived at school and during social times.
It was an event that was truly a celebration of every member of the Cantell family. We look forward to celebrating our next Culture Day on Friday 3rd May 2023.
Outreach Events
At Cantell we feel that it is important to share and reach out in support of welcome and inclusion; we have held a number of outreach events and fundraisers to support a range of causes globally to show support and educate about the impact of these global events.
20th October 2023: Relief effort in Morocco, Libya and Nepal
Our Student Leadership Team organised an event to raise money to support the relief efforts in Morocco, Libya and Nepal due to the effects of natural disasters. Events included a non-uniform day, henna stations and the ever-popular “Sponge Mr Kutty”.
10th February 2023: Supporting the People of Turkey and Syria
Students and staff at Cantell were invited to take part in a non-uniform day, as well as “Sponge Mr Kutty” to raise money for the Earthquake relief for Turkey and Syria.
6th May 2022: A Message of Welcome to Ukrainian Refugees
Students from Cantell School are sending a message of hope to children fleeing Ukraine and are welcoming them with open arms. The Cantell family is set to open its doors to a number of young people who have escaped from war-torn Ukraine.
For more information, please read our full story featured in the Daily Echo.
10th March 2022: Welcome To Our City
This week some of our Year 10 Community Leaders visited the John Hansard Gallery to create welcome boxes for refugee families arriving in Southampton. Combining the generous coffee jar donations from the Cantell community with the other items collected by schools across Southampton, over 50 welcome boxes were put together. These boxes demonstrate our community values as a School of Sanctuary, and we hope that they will help those seeking sanctuary in Southampton to feel welcome in our city and support them during a challenging time. Thank you to Madeleine, Vishaan, Mate and Taytum for representing Cantell and supporting at this event.
8th October 2021: Southampton Schools Raise Over £3000 for Refugees
The Aspire Community Trust, a group of nine Southampton schools, have rallied together to raise money for new Afghan refugees arriving in Southampton following the recent crisis in Afghanistan. Schools across the trust joined together to have a non-uniform event on Friday 7th October, where each student donated to take part in the event. Cantell School also raised some additional funds by holding a popular “Sponge the Teacher” event.
The idea was spearheaded by Aizik, a Year 11 student at Cantell School. When asked what inspired him, Aizik explained, “When my family and I moved here we received a lot of support from school, church and friends. Seeing people leaving their home land was very upsetting. I always said to myself that if I ever have the chance to give back to people in a similar situation I would do so, and to give those fleeing their country support to have a fresh start.”
Harry Kutty, Chair of the Aspire Community Trust, said, “All the Headteachers in our family of schools gave their unequivocal support to Aizik and his idea and we are really pleased to have been able to raise just over £3,000 for those Afghan families torn away from their homes so suddenly and shockingly.”
In total the schools raised £3087.90. These funds will be split between CLEAR and Action Southampton, two organisations supporting Afghan refugees arriving in Southampton.
The idea was spearheaded by Aizik, a Year 11 student at Cantell School. When asked what inspired him, Aizik explained, “When my family and I moved here we received a lot of support from school, church and friends. Seeing people leaving their home land was very upsetting. I always said to myself that if I ever have the chance to give back to people in a similar situation I would do so, and to give those fleeing their country support to have a fresh start.”
Harry Kutty, Chair of the Aspire Community Trust said “All the Headteachers in our family of schools gave their unequivocal support to Aizik and his idea and we are really pleased to have been able to raise just over £3,000 for those Afghan families torn away from their homes so suddenly and shockingly.”
In total the schools raised £3087.90. These funds will be split between CLEAR and Action Southampton, two organisations supporting Afghan refugees arriving in Southampton.
From left to right: Harry Kutty (Chair of Aspire Trust), Aizik, Paul Woodman, Jonathan Clark (Cantell Connects Lead)