Pupils at St Saviour’s CofE Primary School produced art inspired by refugee artists or focused on the impacts of displacement at an event that celebrated refugees, reports Rana Rastegari

St Saviour’s CofE Primary School in Walthamstow held their annual cultural celebration event on the 19th of July. 

Following on from Refugee Week, the students of the school have learnt about the lives of refugees and displacement across the world through “We Cannot Walk Alone” lessons. 

The event consisted of each year group displaying their artwork, completed over the course of the lessons. Each year the group produced art inspired by a particular artist who was either themselves a refugee or focused on the impacts of displacement and what the refugee experienced.

Artists included Nabil Amini and Ella Trudgeno, who came to visit the event themselves, as well as Shazia Ahmad who the children met online. 

The annual event, now its third year running, also included performances from each year group. Each cohort was assigned a country and a song to sing in that language accompanied by dances. Alongside the performances, stalls selling food, slushies and bracelets made by the children were also open for parents and visitors to visit.

All proceeds made from the event were donated to charity including the Faizan-e-Islamic Centre. The school has an impressive history of raising donations for social causes, previously they raised enough money to bring a refugee family to the UK from Syria and the child is now a student at St Saviour’s CofE. 

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Sheldon Phillips, Assistant Headteacher, stated: “Our goal is compassion and empathy. We don’t just do art lessons, there’s literature lessons and topic lessons so we are trying to give them the full experience”. Previous art works from the event are displayed throughout the school. 

Kerry Bullock, who organised the event, told the Echo: “We want to make sure art encompasses the diversity of our cohort, recognising the similarities and differences in the most positive way. We wanted to include the voices of refugees and take away the ignorance about what a refugee is.”

As a designated sanctuary school which works closely with the Genesis Education Trust, the mission statement of the school is “to be a place of transforming growth, where Christian education inspires children and adults for achievement in the whole of life”.

Schools of sanctuary are educational institutions committed to creating a welcoming culture for refugees. In practising their role as a sanctuary school, all staff members are trained and educated on the Schools of Sanctuary mission. Many teachers also participated in a sponsored walk that measured the distance from Syria to London.

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