Celebrate our wonderful city of sanctuary and the amazing contribution refugees and asylum seekers make to Bristol with some fun classroom activities during Bristol Refugee Festival 7th – 22nd June 2025 and World Refugee Day – Thursday 20th June.
Ways to be Involved
Take part in a local community event.
Join our mailing list to find out what events are happening in your community, keep an eye on our events page. Or get in touch if you want to be involved.
Resources from Youtube channel.
Guest speaker – perhaps one of the parents would be happy to come in and be interviewed by the children (or get in touch with us or City of Sanctuary to arrange a speaker).
What was it like when they first arrived in the UK and what sort of welcome did they receive?
- Write a story for a newspaper, a poem, a radio interview for the school website
- For KS4 students, this interview could focus on human rights as part of their Citizenship curriculum.
Bristol Sweetmart – read case study of Bristol Sweetmart – beloved local supermarket founded by refugees. Can you think of any places you love in your neighbourhood? Take photos of your local neighbourhood favourites to share with the class and online.
Discuss this year’s theme ‘CommUnity as a Superpower.
What does this mean to you?
How can we make our school community more welcome and inclusive.
Create your own picture/poem/song around the theme.
Learn a song from another culture, already arranged in different parts on the Music Action website here. Video the class singing it and post it online. Watch local refugee musicians performing on our Youtube channel.
Bristol’s map of the world – There are 91 languages spoken in Bristol (2011 Census). Using this list of the most commonly spoken languages, colour in countries on a map of the world which speak any one of the languages listed. Put them in your windows and share online.
Making Bristol Home – see below for suggested discussion/ideas using short films from our you tube channel.
Share it! we would love to see what you have been doing. Please share and tag your photos
#Bristolrefugeefestival #BRF2025 #CelebratingSanctuary #refugeeswelcome #communityasasuperpower
Twitter: @RefugeeFestBRL / Instagram: @bristolrefugeefestival / Facebook: @bristolrefugeefestival
KS1/2
Finding Stories – a series of short animations using stories from refugees in Bristol.
Cox’s Bazar by Shiddik
Shiddik narrates this beautiful animation telling the story of when he visited the world’s largest beach in Bangladesh.
Discussion point: Think of a time when you went somewhere new for the first time. Was it scary? What is it like for people coming to the UK for the first time?
The Princess and the Snails by Parvana
Parvana tells the story of an exiled princess who finds her way back home with the help of some friendly snails.
Discussion point: If you were exiled like the princess, what would you miss most about home? / Draw a picture of your home and what you would miss the most
Making Bristol Home – a series of short videos where refugees talk about their experience of arriving in the UK and making Bristol their home.
- Ali Elmubarak – Sudanese musician, Ali, talks about why he left Sudan, the welcome he received in the UK and feeling at home in Bristol.
Discussion points: What does it mean to be a Bristolian? / What do you know about the situation in Sudan?
- Luis Bustamante – since arriving in the UK in the 1970s following a coup in his home country of Chile, Luis has had children and grandchildren in the UK and feels “part of this place”
Discussion point: What is a refugee? / Has what it means to be a refugee changed over time?
Celebrating Sanctuary at Home – video gigs from our 2020 programme s
Celebrate our wonderful city of sanctuary and the amazing contribution refugees and asylum seekers make to Bristol with some fun classroom activities during Bristol Refugee Festival 7th – 22nd June 2025 and World Refugee Day – Thursday 20th June.
Ways to be involved
Take part in a local community event.
Join our mailing list to find out what events are happening in your community, keep an eye on our events page. Or get in touch if you want to be involved.
Videos from our youtube channel.
Discuss this year’s theme ‘CommUnity as a Superpower.
What does this mean to you?
How can we make our school community more welcome and inclusive.
Create your own picture/poem/song around the theme.
Learn a song from another culture, already arranged in different parts on the Music Action website here. Video the class singing it and post it online. Watch local refugee musicians performing on our Youtube channel.
Guest speaker – perhaps one of the parents would be happy to come in and be interviewed by the children (or get in touch with us or City of Sanctuary to arrange a speaker).
What was it like when they first arrived in the UK and what sort of welcome did they receive?
- Write a story for a newspaper, a poem, a radio interview for the school website
- For KS4 students, this interview could focus on human rights as part of their Citizenship curriculum.
Bristol Sweetmart – read case study of Bristol Sweetmart – beloved local supermarket founded by refugees. Can you think of any places you love in your neighbourhood? Take photos of your local neighbourhood favourites to share with the class and online.
Bristol’s map of the world – There are 91 languages spoken in Bristol (2011 Census). Using this list of the most commonly spoken languages, colour in countries on a map of the world which speak any one of the languages listed. Put them in your windows and share online.
Making Bristol Home – see below for suggested discussion/ideas using short films from our you tube channel.
Share it! we would love to see what you have been doing. Please share and tag your photos
#Bristolrefugeefestival #BRF2025 #CelebratingSanctuary #refugeeswelcome #communityasasuperpower
Twitter: @RefugeeFestBRL / Instagram: @bristolrefugeefestival / Facebook: @bristolrefugeefestival
KS1/2
Finding Stories – a series of short animations using stories from refugees in Bristol.
Cox’s Bazar by Shiddik
Shiddik narrates this beautiful animation telling the story of when he visited the world’s largest beach in Bangladesh.
Discussion point: Think of a time when you went somewhere new for the first time. Was it scary? What is it like for people coming to the UK for the first time?
The Princess and the Snails by Parvana
Parvana tells the story of an exiled princess who finds her way back home with the help of some friendly snails.
Discussion point: If you were exiled like the princess, what would you miss most about home? / Draw a picture of your home and what you would miss the most
Making Bristol Home – a series of short videos where refugees talk about their experience of arriving in the UK and making Bristol their home.
- Ali Elmubarak – Sudanese musician, Ali, talks about why he left Sudan, the welcome he received in the UK and feeling at home in Bristol.
Discussion points: What does it mean to be a Bristolian? / What do you know about the situation in Sudan?
- Luis Bustamante – since arriving in the UK in the 1970s following a coup in his home country of Chile, Luis has had children and grandchildren in the UK and feels “part of this place”
Discussion point: What is a refugee? / Has what it means to be a refugee changed over time?
Celebrating Sanctuary at Home – video gigs from our 2020 programme s
Celebrate our wonderful city of sanctuary and the amazing contribution refugees and asylum seekers make to Bristol with some fun classroom activities during Bristol Refugee Festival 7th – 22nd June 2025 and World Refugee Day – Thursday 20th June.
Ways to be involved
Take part in a local community event.
Join our mailing list to find out what events are happening in your community, keep an eye on our events page. Or get in touch if you want to be involved.
Videos from our youtube channel.
Discuss this year’s theme ‘CommUnity as a Superpower.
What does this mean to you?
How can we make our school community more welcome and inclusive.
Create your own picture/poem/song around the theme.
Learn a song from another culture, already arranged in different parts on the Music Action website here. Video the class singing it and post it online. Watch local refugee musicians performing on our Youtube channel.
Guest speaker – perhaps one of the parents would be happy to come in and be interviewed by the children (or get in touch with us or City of Sanctuary to arrange a speaker).
What was it like when they first arrived in the UK and what sort of welcome did they receive?
- Write a story for a newspaper, a poem, a radio interview for the school website
- For KS4 students, this interview could focus on human rights as part of their Citizenship curriculum.
Bristol Sweetmart – read case study of Bristol Sweetmart – beloved local supermarket founded by refugees. Can you think of any places you love in your neighbourhood? Take photos of your local neighbourhood favourites to share with the class and online.
Bristol’s map of the world – There are 91 languages spoken in Bristol (2011 Census). Using this list of the most commonly spoken languages, colour in countries on a map of the world which speak any one of the languages listed. Put them in your windows and share online.
Making Bristol Home – see below for suggested discussion/ideas using short films from our you tube channel.
Share it! we would love to see what you have been doing. Please share and tag your photos
#Bristolrefugeefestival #BRF2025 #CelebratingSanctuary #refugeeswelcome #communityasasuperpower
Twitter: @RefugeeFestBRL / Instagram: @bristolrefugeefestival / Facebook: @bristolrefugeefestival
KS1/2
Finding Stories – a series of short animations using stories from refugees in Bristol.
Cox’s Bazar by Shiddik
Shiddik narrates this beautiful animation telling the story of when he visited the world’s largest beach in Bangladesh.
Discussion point: Think of a time when you went somewhere new for the first time. Was it scary? What is it like for people coming to the UK for the first time?
The Princess and the Snails by Parvana
Parvana tells the story of an exiled princess who finds her way back home with the help of some friendly snails.
Discussion point: If you were exiled like the princess, what would you miss most about home? / Draw a picture of your home and what you would miss the most
Making Bristol Home – a series of short videos where refugees talk about their experience of arriving in the UK and making Bristol their home.
- Ali Elmubarak – Sudanese musician, Ali, talks about why he left Sudan, the welcome he received in the UK and feeling at home in Bristol.
Discussion points: What does it mean to be a Bristolian? / What do you know about the situation in Sudan?
- Luis Bustamante – since arriving in the UK in the 1970s following a coup in his home country of Chile, Luis has had children and grandchildren in the UK and feels “part of this place”
Discussion point: What is a refugee? / Has what it means to be a refugee changed over time?
Celebrating Sanctuary at Home – video gigs from our 2020 programme s
Celebrate our wonderful city of sanctuary and the amazing contribution refugees and asylum seekers make to Bristol with some fun classroom activities during Bristol Refugee Festival 7th – 22nd June 2025 and World Refugee Day – Thursday 20th June.
Ways to be involved
Take part in a local community event.
Join our mailing list to find out what events are happening in your community, keep an eye on our events page. Or get in touch if you want to be involved.
Below are suggested ideas for different key stages and ways to use some resources on our youtube channel.
Younger children and KS1 / KS2
People paper chains – cut out paper people and decorate them with smiley faces. Attach them together in a chain to create a big, warm welcome around the classroom.
Waving welcome hands – draw around your hands and cut them out. Look up words for ‘welcome’ in different languages. Decorate your paper hands with words for welcome and display them in your window or string them together and line the school gates with your ‘waving welcome hands’.
Lubna and Pebble – after reading the story, ask the children to decorate their own pebbles with smiling faces and give them as a gift or leave them as a secret present for someone to find. Take photos of all the pebbles together and share with us @bristolrefugeefestival
Finding Words – stories of discovery – beautiful short animations depicting stories told by refugees in Bristol. See below for more details and ideas using our You Tube Channel.
Paddington’s suitcase – Padddington left Peru with only a few items in his suitcase. Decide what five items you would take with you if you had to leave home and live in a new place. Draw the items on an outline of an empty suitcase.
KS3 / KS4
Discuss this year’s theme ‘CommUnity as a Superpower.
What does this mean to you?
How can we make our school community more welcome and inclusive.
Create your own picture/poem/song around the theme.
Learn a song from another culture, already arranged in different parts on the Music Action website here. Video the class singing it and post it online. Watch local refugee musicians performing on our Youtube channel.
Guest speaker – perhaps one of the parents would be happy to come in and be interviewed by the children (or get in touch with us or City of Sanctuary to arrange a speaker).
What was it like when they first arrived in the UK and what sort of welcome did they receive?
- Write a story for a newspaper, a poem, a radio interview for the school website
- For KS4 students, this interview could focus on human rights as part of their Citizenship curriculum.
Bristol Sweetmart – read case study of Bristol Sweetmart – beloved local supermarket founded by refugees. Can you think of any places you love in your neighbourhood? Take photos of your local neighbourhood favourites to share with the class and online.
Bristol’s map of the world – There are 91 languages spoken in Bristol (2011 Census). Using this list of the most commonly spoken languages, colour in countries on a map of the world which speak any one of the languages listed. Put them in your windows and share online.
Making Bristol Home – see below for suggested discussion/ideas using short films from our you tube channel.
Share it! we would love to see what you have been doing. Please share and tag your photos
#Bristolrefugeefestival #BRF2025 #CelebratingSanctuary #refugeeswelcome #communityasasuperpower
Twitter: @RefugeeFestBRL / Instagram: @bristolrefugeefestival / Facebook: @bristolrefugeefestival
Bristol Refugee Festival YouTube Channel for Schools
KS1/2
Finding Stories – a series of short animations using stories from refugees in Bristol.
Cox’s Bazar by Shiddik
Shiddik narrates this beautiful animation telling the story of when he visited the world’s largest beach in Bangladesh.
Discussion point: Think of a time when you went somewhere new for the first time. Was it scary? What is it like for people coming to the UK for the first time?
The Princess and the Snails by Parvana
Parvana tells the story of an exiled princess who finds her way back home with the help of some friendly snails.
Discussion point: If you were exiled like the princess, what would you miss most about home? / Draw a picture of your home and what you would miss the most.
KS3/4
Making Bristol Home – a series of short videos where refugees talk about their experience of arriving in the UK and making Bristol their home.
- Ali Elmubarak – Sudanese musician, Ali, talks about why he left Sudan, the welcome he received in the UK and feeling at home in Bristol.
Discussion points: What does it mean to be a Bristolian? / What do you know about the situation in Sudan?
- Luis Bustamante – since arriving in the UK in the 1970s following a coup in his home country of Chile, Luis has had children and grandchildren in the UK and feels “part of this place”
Discussion point: What is a refugee? / Has what it means to be a refugee changed over time?
Celebrating Sanctuary at Home – video gigs from our 2020 programme s
Celebrate our wonderful city of sanctuary and the amazing contribution refugees and asylum seekers make to Bristol with some fun classroom activities during Bristol Refugee Festival 7th – 22nd June 2025 and World Refugee Day – Thursday 20th June.
Ways to be involved
Take part in a local community event.
Join our mailing list to find out what events are happening in your community, keep an eye on our events page. Or get in touch if you want to be involved.
Below are suggested ideas for different key stages and ways to use some resources on our youtube channel.
Younger children and KS1 / KS2
People paper chains – cut out paper people and decorate them with smiley faces. Attach them together in a chain to create a big, warm welcome around the classroom.
Waving welcome hands – draw around your hands and cut them out. Look up words for ‘welcome’ in different languages. Decorate your paper hands with words for welcome and display them in your window or string them together and line the school gates with your ‘waving welcome hands’.
Lubna and Pebble – after reading the story, ask the children to decorate their own pebbles with smiling faces and give them as a gift or leave them as a secret present for someone to find. Take photos of all the pebbles together and share with us @bristolrefugeefestival
Finding Words – stories of discovery – beautiful short animations depicting stories told by refugees in Bristol. See below for more details and ideas using our You Tube Channel.
Paddington’s suitcase – Padddington left Peru with only a few items in his suitcase. Decide what five items you would take with you if you had to leave home and live in a new place. Draw the items on an outline of an empty suitcase.
KS3 / KS4
Discuss this year’s theme ‘CommUnity as a Superpower.
What does this mean to you?
How can we make our school community more welcome and inclusive.
Create your own picture/poem/song around the theme.
Learn a song from another culture, already arranged in different parts on the Music Action website here. Video the class singing it and post it online. Watch local refugee musicians performing on our Youtube channel.
Guest speaker – perhaps one of the parents would be happy to come in and be interviewed by the children (or get in touch with us or City of Sanctuary to arrange a speaker).
What was it like when they first arrived in the UK and what sort of welcome did they receive?
- Write a story for a newspaper, a poem, a radio interview for the school website
- For KS4 students, this interview could focus on human rights as part of their Citizenship curriculum.
Bristol Sweetmart – read case study of Bristol Sweetmart – beloved local supermarket founded by refugees. Can you think of any places you love in your neighbourhood? Take photos of your local neighbourhood favourites to share with the class and online.
Bristol’s map of the world – There are 91 languages spoken in Bristol (2011 Census). Using this list of the most commonly spoken languages, colour in countries on a map of the world which speak any one of the languages listed. Put them in your windows and share online.
Making Bristol Home – see below for suggested discussion/ideas using short films from our you tube channel.
Share it! we would love to see what you have been doing. Please share and tag your photos
#Bristolrefugeefestival #BRF2025 #CelebratingSanctuary #refugeeswelcome #communityasasuperpower
Twitter: @RefugeeFestBRL / Instagram: @bristolrefugeefestival / Facebook: @bristolrefugeefestival
Bristol Refugee Festival YouTube Channel for Schools
KS1/2
Finding Stories – a series of short animations using stories from refugees in Bristol.
Cox’s Bazar by Shiddik
Shiddik narrates this beautiful animation telling the story of when he visited the world’s largest beach in Bangladesh.
Discussion point: Think of a time when you went somewhere new for the first time. Was it scary? What is it like for people coming to the UK for the first time?
The Princess and the Snails by Parvana
Parvana tells the story of an exiled princess who finds her way back home with the help of some friendly snails.
Discussion point: If you were exiled like the princess, what would you miss most about home? / Draw a picture of your home and what you would miss the most.
KS3/4
Making Bristol Home – a series of short videos where refugees talk about their experience of arriving in the UK and making Bristol their home.
- Ali Elmubarak – Sudanese musician, Ali, talks about why he left Sudan, the welcome he received in the UK and feeling at home in Bristol.
Discussion points: What does it mean to be a Bristolian? / What do you know about the situation in Sudan?
- Luis Bustamante – since arriving in the UK in the 1970s following a coup in his home country of Chile, Luis has had children and grandchildren in the UK and feels “part of this place”
Discussion point: What is a refugee? / Has what it means to be a refugee changed over time?
Celebrating Sanctuary at Home – video gigs from our 2020 programme s