In Birmingham, we have over seventy schools in our Schools of Sanctuary network. The campaigning work of three of these schools has been recognised in local and national media!

Pupils from two primary schools, St Ambrose Barlow in Hall Green and St Dunstan’s in King’s Heath, took to the streets to encourage local shopkeepers and businesses to support the Lift The Ban campaign, to give asylum-seekers the right to work while waiting for their decision. You can read about St Ambrose Barlow’s activities here  on the Independent Catholic News website, and about St Dunstan’s here in the Birmingham Mail. The Birmingham Mail article also reports about the initiative of the  St Dunstan’s pupils to send dozens of pictures to asylum-seeking children in detention centres and also to the Immigration Minister Robert Jenrick who order cheerful murals in the centres to be painted over.

This second action was shared by St Gerard’s Primary in Castle Vale, where pupils were interviewed by journalists about the pictures which they  were planning to send to the children at a detention centre in Kent. The story subsequently appeared in several local newspapers and nationally in The Independent!

The work of the children to send pictures to the Immigration Minister and detained children was included in a national petition by change.org!

Both of these initiatives are examples of the wisdom and compassion of the pupils and staff across the Schools of Sanctuary network and also reflects our collaboration with Stories of Hope and Home, Columbans, and Asylum Matters.