The School of life

For thousands of refugee children, going to school in their new country can be a bewildering, isolating experience. But at Reads Editor Cyan Turan’s alma mater, a special poetry group gives these pupils a creative outlet

Many years ago – when Brexit didn’t dominate the headlines, Kim Kardashian hadn’t posted any nude selfies and nobody knew what a hashtag was – I was a pupil at Oxford Spires Academy (OSA), then Oxford Community School. In my time, the school was one of the most multicultural in the country. Not much has changed. In fact, the many refugee families – from war-torn countries including Syria and Afghanistan – settling in the area have only served to enhance the school’s ‘melting pot’ reputation. Now, 20% of pupils are white British, with the remaining 80% hailing from countries large and small, far and near – from Lithuania to Brazil. My stint there was longer ago than I care to remember but when I heard about a new poetry book, England: Poems…

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Red UK (Digital) - 1 Issue, July 2018

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