School of Sanctuary

At St. Gerard’s Catholic Primary School, we are proud to be a School of Sanctuary. This recognises that in our school we have passionate young people, who are following Catholic School Teaching, and are dedicated to raising awareness of the issues facing people in the asylum system, who want to challenge misconceptions and build social action. 

A School of Sanctuary is a school that is committed to being a safe and welcoming place for those seeking sanctuary. This could be people whose lives were in danger in their own country, who have troubles at home or are just looking for a space of safety. A School of Sanctuary is a school that helps its students, staff and wider community understand what it means to be seeking sanctuary and to extend a welcome to everyone as equal, valued members of the school community. It is a school that is proud to be a place of safety and inclusion for all.

As a school we have locally built links with St.Chad’s Sanctuary and supported their work. We have also been inspired by the work of Stories of Hope and Home and James Trewby. Our dedication and commitment to being a School of Sanctuary has also been commended by our local MP, Paulette Hamilton. We have also spread our message of welcome nationally when we showed support for people arriving at the migrant centre in Kent. Our work was recognised by the nation media. We continue to be active global citizen’s, finding ways that we can show support for refugees and asylum seekers whilst also following in Jesus’ footsteps.