We were delighted to welcome Sabrina Rambech, Head of Refugees (Shaja Jahan Mosque) at The Surrey Muslim Association, to the College at the end of Christmas Term. In what’s fast becoming a festive tradition, Sabrina came to meet with and thank our Sixth Form students who take part in a programme tutoring refugee children and young adults.

The programme developed from Sabrina meeting with Jon Carr, our Head of Sixth Form, back in March 2020 when lockdown first began. Sabrina works closely with refugee families to help and support them, and heard that Jon was already supporting our Sixth Form students to work with around 20 young people linked with ElbridgeCan. Together, they built on this existing work to develop a programme of support for children as young as six and up to young people in their early twenties with reading and writing English.

“I am so privileged to have been working with such a fantastic group of students under the careful watch of Jonathan Carr and Jane Gittins. It never fails to amaze how these very busy young adults generously give up their time to help improving the future opportunities and lives of Syrian and Afghan families,” shared Sabrina.

Our Sixth Form students are partnered with refugees that they meet online twice a week for as long as the refugee requires. During these 45-minute meetings, our students help refugees with their English, exam preparation, and sometimes even revision for their driving theory test! The refugees they work with often have parents who don't speak English, and our students play, quietly, a vital role in them accessing the British educational system. Our students take great pride in seeing their partnered refugees improve in skills and confidence.

Nearly three years on now from the programme’s initiation, over 90 Sixth Form students are involved. They are partnered with refugees from countries like Syria, Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, Kurdistan, and Ukraine, who are now based across the Surrey area. This means our students are delivering over 100 lessons to refugees each week, every one making a difference to their lives.

Our Sixth Form student, Beth, said: “Being able to be involved in the refugee teaching programme has been such a memorable and rewarding experience. I have been teaching my student for a year now and every week I look forward to our lessons, and it’s so nice to see how much she enjoys school and learning.”

We are looking forward to another successful year of the programme in 2023.