Celebrating Courage at Richmond Refugee Week
On Thursday 18th June 2026, we were proud to celebrate Richmond Refugee Week with our "It Takes Courage" Poetry Workshop, bringing together learners to explore courage, creativity, and self-expression through poetry.
We were delighted to welcome The Worshipful the Mayor of Richmond upon Thames, Councillor Nancy Baldwin, alongside Councillor Fiona Sacks, Councillor for Barnes Ward, Borough of Sanctuary Champion, and the Mayor's Consort. Their kindness and genuine interest in our learners made the day even more special. It meant a great deal to participants to have their stories and achievements recognised.
During her visit, Madam Mayor brought posters promoting Richmond Council's Refugee Week Celebration Event at York House and warmly encouraged our learners to attend the evening's celebrations.
A huge thank you to Richmond Council for funding this project and making the workshop possible. Their support helped us create a safe and welcoming space where learners could connect, learn, and build confidence.
Throughout the day, learners shared ideas about what courage means to them and created their own poems. Many reflected on the courage it takes to start a new life, learn a new language, make friends, and overcome challenges. The poetry shared was thoughtful, moving, and inspiring.
One learner wrote a powerful poem about courage, demonstrating how poetry can connect people across cultures and experiences:
Living requires courage,
Existing requires creativity.
This world is both very fun and very dangerous.
To live, one must be brave.
We must overcome fear.
Those who are afraid of making mistakes
Cannot gain a unifying force in life.
As part of the celebration, every learner received a Poet in Progress Certificate and a Courage Mug, handcrafted by the husband of one of our volunteers. These gifts recognised learners' creativity and served as a reminder of the strength and courage they showed by sharing their ideas and experiences.
A special thank you goes to our wonderful volunteers, Robyn and Cynthia, who planned and led the workshop. Their encouragement, creativity, and support helped learners feel confident to take part and share their voices through poetry. Their contribution was central to the success of the day.
We would also like to thank Raana and Lana for supporting learners who brought their children. They created a safe and welcoming space where the children felt happy and cared for, allowing parents to fully participate in the workshop. Their support helped create a warm and inclusive atmosphere for everyone.
The day ended with learners proudly sharing their work and celebrating one another's achievements. It was a wonderful reminder that courage comes in many forms and that every story deserves to be heard.
Later that evening, we hosted a stall at Richmond's Refugee Week Celebration Event at York House in Twickenham, alongside many other organisations taking part in the borough-wide programme of activities. The event provided a fantastic opportunity to engage with members of the local community, partner organisations, and supporters while celebrating the contributions of refugees and people seeking sanctuary in Richmond.
Delicious food and vibrant performances brought colour, energy, and a wonderful sense of celebration to the evening.
We are grateful to the Richmond Borough of Sanctuary team for organising such a welcoming event and for providing us with the opportunity to participate.
A special thank you to our volunteers Audri and Dan for representing us at the event, alongside Bryony, one of our Fundraising Managers. We would also like to thank Cynthia, who facilitated the poetry workshop and then joined the evening celebration, helping to staff the LEAH stall and engage with visitors throughout the event.
Thank you to everyone who helped make Richmond Refugee Week such a positive and memorable celebration of courage, compassion, creativity, and community.
Community Case at Kingston Museum
This month, we are proud to present a Community Case display at Kingston Museum, developed in partnership with Kingston Museum and the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames.
The display celebrates the learning journey of our ESOL learners following a guided heritage walk organised as part of the 1,100th anniversary celebrations of the coronation of King Athelstan in 2025. (Read more about the trip here: LEAH (Learn English at Home) – Celebrating 1100 Years of King Athelstan: A Special Day in Kingston)
Titled "The Rediscovery of King Athelstan's Kingston, Anno Domini 2025", the display captures learners' experiences of exploring Kingston's royal heritage during the Athelstan 1100 celebrations. Bringing together history, language learning and community engagement, the project demonstrates how local heritage can help learners develop confidence, skills and a stronger connection to the place they now call home.
At the heart of the display is a creative interpretation of the learners' historic walk through Kingston.
Photographs from the trip were transformed into a manuscript story, inspired by medieval illuminated texts. This creative interpretation enabled learners to retell their experiences of exploring Kingston's historic sites in the style of a chronicle from King Athelstan's time, bringing together local heritage, language learning and personal reflection.
The display also showcases accessible learning resources created to support learners' engagement with Kingston Museum. These include easy-reading ESOL books about the museum visit, and an accompanying ESOL worksheet. The worksheet can be used during a visit to the museum, encouraging learners to explore exhibits, develop museum vocabulary and build confidence using English in a real-world setting. Together, these resources help learners strengthen their reading, comprehension and communication skills while engaging with Kingston's rich heritage.
A historical map comparing Kingston in King Athelstan's time with Kingston today helps visitors explore how the town has evolved over more than a thousand years, while highlighting its continuing importance in English history.
One of the display's symbolic features is the inclusion of dried flax. Flax is known for its strength and durability when woven together, reflecting the resilience, determination and growth shown by our learners as they build their English language skills and establish new lives within the community. The flax also provides a connection to the period of King Athelstan, reminding us of the materials and traditions that shaped everyday life in early medieval England.
Another striking feature is the learner reflection tree. The tree is wrapped in cellophane, representing the safe and supportive environment that LEAH provides for learners as they develop confidence, share experiences and take risks in learning a new language. Hanging from the tree are messages written by learners in both English and their first languages, describing what they learned about Kingston, what they enjoyed about the project and how they connected their own experiences and cultural backgrounds with the history of the borough. The multilingual messages celebrate the diversity of our learner community while demonstrating the shared value of belonging, learning and cultural exchange.
The Community Case highlights the power of partnership between LEAH, Kingston Museum and the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames in creating meaningful opportunities for adult learners to engage with local heritage. Through this collaboration, learners have not only improved their English language skills but have also become active participants in preserving and sharing Kingston's story.
We would like to thank Kingston Museum and the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames for their support and for providing a platform to showcase the creativity, achievements and voices of our learners. We are also grateful to Kingston Council for the funding opportunity that helped make this project possible and enabled learners to engage with Kingston's rich heritage in meaningful and accessible ways.
A huge thank you to our volunteer Lana for all her help. After four and a half hours, several deep breaths, and a few moments of wondering if the display would ever cooperate, we finally got there!
We hope the display inspires visitors to explore Kingston's history and recognise the important contribution that learners from diverse backgrounds make to our community.
You can access the resources by clicking on the links below:
ESOL Worksheet to use in Kingston Museum
On de-installation of the display, Heritage Officer, Austin Barlow, wrote to us
"It’s been really lovely to host your display in the Community Case within Kingston Museum, installed by Savannah and Lana, and many thanks again for all the work and focus that went into this. Sadly, the time will soon arrive for us to de-install the display in readiness for the next exhibitor. We still have time to enjoy your display prior to this but I wanted to advise and remind of this upcoming date in good time to enable sufficient planning. On behalf of the Museum I would really like to thank you and the LEAH team for a really excellent display, which I genuinely hope has helped to raise awareness and support for the vital work of LEAH and wish you all every success going forwards."
Celebrating Our Amazing Volunteers
During Volunteers' Week 2026, we want to take a moment to recognise and celebrate the incredible people who make so much of our work possible: our volunteers.
At LEAH, volunteers are at the heart of everything we do. Behind every individual we have supported, every goal achieved, and every positive step forward is a volunteer who chose to give their time, energy, and compassion to help others.
Their commitment makes a real difference - every single day.
Throughout this week, we will be shining a spotlight on the amazing individuals who form the heart of the LEAH community. We have some inspiring volunteer stories to share, and we look forward to celebrating the people whose dedication helps transform lives.
To all our volunteers: thank you. Your kindness, generosity, and unwavering support mean more than words can express. This week is dedicated to you.
Be sure to follow us on social media throughout Volunteer Week to read our volunteers’ stories and take part in our games, quizzes, and celebrations.
You can read more of our volunteer stories here.
From everyone at LEAH, thank you for everything you do. 💛
Celebrating Refugee week 2026
We are delighted to be hosting a special event to celebrate Refugee Week in Richmond on Thursday 18th June 2026.
Open to sanctuary seekers living in the borough of Richmond, the event will feature an interactive poetry session inspired by this year’s theme of “Courage”.
It will be a welcoming space to connect, share experiences, and explore creativity together.
Participants are asked to sign up in advance via email or a phone call to our Coordinator Savannah Smith - coordinator4@leah.org.uk / 020 8946 1829
Thursday 18th June 2026
10:30am – 1:30pm
Whittaker Suite, Old Town Hall
Whittaker Road, TW9 1TP
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact Savannah or email info@leah.org.uk
We are grateful to Richmond Council for Richmond Borough of Sanctuary funding.
British Museum Trip
On Wednesday 20th May our Merton students enjoyed a tour of the British Museum, led by a dedicated ESOL tour guide. The students visited various rooms in the museum and learnt about key pieces and the history of the museum. The tour lasted for almost 2 hours and was followed by teas, coffees and sandwiches at a local Pret.
What our students had to say about the trip:
"Dear Emma & Matilda. Thank you very much for organizing the trip to the British Museum today. I really enjoyed and learned something about different cultures. Also many thanks for your food and drink. Thanks again"
With thanks
A big thank you to the British Museum for kindly facilitating this session and supporting our learners. It was a great day of history and learning in an iconic institution. Our students were inspired to go back to the museum to see more.
This trip was made possible thanks to The National Lottery Community Fund. #NationalLottery players
A Year of Pride and Partnership
What an incredible year it has been!
In May 2025, we were deeply honoured when Councillor Noel Hadjimichael, the 191st Mayor of the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames, chose LEAH to be one of his two charities for his mayoral year, recognising our work in building resilience through language learning for some of the most vulnerable people in our community.
Over the past twelve months, we have shared so many wonderful moments together. Highlights included a memorable volunteer summer party at the historic Guildhall in Kingston, where the Mayor and Deputy Mayor joined us to celebrate our incredible volunteers; a 10km run by our own Alice and Caroline at FANYS in support of the Mayor's Charitable Trust; and a truly elegant charity dinner at Glenmore House, bringing together community leaders from across the borough.
Throughout the year, the Mayor also visited our office and joined one of our lessons - a moment that meant a great deal to our team, volunteers and learners alike. Read more about his visit here
As this special year has drawn to a close, we want to say a heartfelt thank you to Councillor Hadjimichael, Ms Carol Berliner, Councillor Sue Ansari, Mr Jaseem Ansari, and everyone who has supported us along the way.
It has been a privilege and a joy.
As the 2025/26 mayoral year comes to a close, the Mayor and Deputy Mayor of the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames have shared this heart-warming message:
The Funding Network
Our Trustee Sharon Landa recently nominated us to apply for an opportunity to pitch for funding at The Funding Network Spring Connector event on May 13th in the City of London.
We were thrilled to be one of three charities selected to pitch on the night, and to raise over £10,000!
Trustee Sue Thomas presented for LEAH, and our coordinators Anna, Emma and Alice, and Fundraising Manager Bryony attended to share information about LEAH with prospective donors.
One of our Merton learners, Ramesh, was also able to attend the event and engage with guests.
Thank you to The Funding Network and everyone who supported us on the night!
You can watch our presentation here:
Photos of the event by TFN photographer, Alick Cotterill.
Kingston Café Bridge event
Café Bridge has once again supported LEAH by holding a wonderful fundraising event.
Keen bridge players convened in Kingston, at a variety of venues, to enjoy a competitive day of playing. Players made their way through cafés and restaurants around Kingston, enjoying friendly bridge games, a raffle, and refreshments.
During the course of the event, players generously supported LEAH by purchasing raffle tickets for some fantastic prizes, and helped us to raise over £600.
We extend our sincere thanks to the Café Bridge organisers Michael Brown, Victor Lesk, Caroline Bottoms and Kat Freeman for their excellent coordination and support. We are also grateful to our staff members Sohail and Anna, along with volunteer Felicia, for representing us at our stall at Browns. Finally, we warmly thank Glutopia for their generous donation of prizes.
For information about other Café Bridge events please contact michael@cafebridge.org
Chiswick house and gardens trust
We had an exciting and inspiring trip to Chiswick House and Gardens on Tuesday 14th April, where learners spent a wonderful morning and early afternoon exploring, creating, and learning together.
The session ran from 11:00am to 2:30pm, giving learners plenty of time to engage with the gardens, take part in activities, and enjoy the outdoor space.
What we did
Learners arrived at the learning centre and began the day with a short introduction to the site and the programme. They also learned about volunteering opportunities within the gardens, helping them understand more about how the space is cared for and shared with the community.
We then explored the gardens, taking time to closely observe the plants and flowers. Learners used all their senses - touching, smelling, and carefully observing the natural environment, to gather inspiration for their creative work.
After this, the group returned to the workshop space where they were guided by a local artist. Here, they created 3D clay sculptures inspired by the gardens, which will later form part of an exhibition displayed within the grounds.
Many learners were highly engaged and clearly enjoyed the session. One unexpected highlight was the gardens’ photographer’s dachshund, who became a favourite source of inspiration. Some learners even created sculptures of him!
Images by Chiswick House and Gardens volunteer Chris Frost
Lunch in the gardens
All 14 learners enjoyed a relaxed lunch outdoors. Sandwiches, tea, and coffee were kindly provided, allowing everyone to enjoy the sunshine, fresh air, and beautiful surroundings while taking a well-earned break.
With thanks
A big thank you to Chiswick House and Gardens Trust for kindly facilitating this session and supporting our learners. It was a great day full of creativity, inspiration, and enjoyable learning in a truly beautiful setting.
Images by Chiswick House and Gardens volunteer Chris Frost
This trip was made possible thanks to The National Lottery Community Fund. #NationalLottery players
Further Learning Festival March 2026
During the week of 9 - 13 March 2026, LEAH hosted an exciting online further learning festival, organised by our wonderful ESOL coordinator, Keri.
All LEAH students were invited to attend 20 minute Q&A's with local/online providers. The six Q&As were well attended by all regular online group class students. Many students attended more than one event. We also welcomed students from 1-1 pairings and from our community class in Heston.
Language for learning:
Our pre-entry students were supported with vocabulary to help them navigate the difference between different learning providers.
Open to all students:
We had a visit from Sarah from Learning Unlimited: Online conversation clubs – Learning Unlimited
Students learnt about the importance of putting their learning into practice and contributing to discussion. Students were left keen to join LEAH's conversation club and Learning Unlimited conversation club/telegram channel.
For students hoping to attend college:
LEAH tutors who have also taught at Kingston College and West Thames College helped students understand timetables, exams and support available at local colleges.
For students wanting career support:
We had a visit from Karam from Breaking Barriers, Breaking barriers support adults from forced migrant backgrounds find meaningful employment though tailored mentoring, re-accreditation and support: Helping refugees find meaningful employment - Breaking Barriers
Click here to see the Breaking Barriers presentation
We had a visit from Mariam from the Launchpad Collective. Students were particularly interested to hear about their work ready English programme. The Launchpad Collective
Click here to see the Launchpad Collective presentation
For students who would like to study at university:
The Open Learning Initiative (OLive) was set up to support refugees and asylum seekers with university applications. I was staggered by the number of our students who joined Corinne's Q&A and dream of going to university one day. They were happy to hear how inclusive the university ready programme was of different levels/readiness for university:
OLIve | School for Policy Studies | University of Bristol
Click here to see the OLive presentation
Future plans:
In the second half of each workshop, learners were divided into small groups.
Our regular remote class tutors supported students to complete a form asking for their thoughts and feedback.
Keri says:
"I am so grateful for the tutors' support. So far, I have had some very interesting responses. Students are quite vocal about their motivation for learning and the difficulties that they face. Many students like learning online and the flexibility that it offers for parents/carers. I am now working through the list and signposting to individuals as much as I can."