Re your article (Teenage asylum seekers arriving after start of school year in ‘no man’s land’, report says, 23 September), schools are reluctant to accept refugees aged 15-17 because they have limited provision and resources to support them.
Most teens who come from school to our young Esol (English for speakers of other languages) study programme at Barnet Southgate College in north London have had a limited education in year 10 and year 11, and have mostly had to muddle along with their peers who are preparing for GCSEs. They would fare much better in a dedicated 14-16 young Esol class such as those offered to 16-plus students at further education colleges.
As course leader for nearly 100 students in High Barnet, I am proud to say that we offer teenage refugees aged 16-18 an exceptional education comprising English language, numeracy, digital skills, science, basic history and geography, employability, citizenship, welfare, art, sport and extracurricular outings to museums, galleries and top London attractions.
We have fostered links with a local care home, and small groups of students visit residents once a week; we enjoy Chickenshed theatre productions; we are welcomed annually by the mayor of Barnet to the town hall; raise money for trips and for charity by selling handmade jewellery, greetings cards and traditional dishes at our enterprise day at the college.
The article suggests that options for teenage refugees are limited, but that is certainly not so at Barnet Southgate College. Learners move from Esol courses on to mainstream courses with the highest aspirations to succeed and provide for their families in their new homeland.
Deborah Koder
Young Esol course leader, Barnet Southgate College
