College of Sanctuary
City Lit’s Journey Towards Becoming a College of Sanctuary
We are proud to be working towards recognition as a College of Sanctuary. Founded in 1919, City Lit has always been a place of welcome – beginning with lipreading classes for veterans deafened in the First World War. For over a century, we have opened the doors of education to people from every walk of life. Today, we extend that same open-hearted commitment to all people seeking sanctuary. Through our courses, we offer not just skills and knowledge but a community where diversity is embraced and ambitions are realised.
Our commitment
City Lit is committed to fostering safety, belonging, and compassion by equipping staff to support students from forced migration backgrounds, removing barriers to education, and centring the voices of those with lived experience. We raise awareness to challenge misconceptions, celebrate contributions, and collaborate with partners, recognising that everyone has a role in building understanding and inclusion within our community and beyond.
We are proud to be working towards recognition as a College of Sanctuary. Since our founding in 1919, we have been a place of welcome and opportunity, opening the doors of education to people from all walks of life. This journey builds on our long tradition of inclusivity and our belief that learning has the power to transform lives. By joining the College of Sanctuary movement, we reaffirm our commitment to creating a safe and supportive environment for those seeking sanctuary. We look forward to continuing to celebrate diversity, value the skills and experiences for those who have been forced to migrate from their homes to seek sanctuary in the UK and work together to build a more compassionate and connected society.
Awards
Mayor of London Inclusive Provider Award.
City Lit is the only college to have won the Mayor of London Inclusive Provider of Adult Education Award twice — first in 2022 for our Centre for Learning Disabilities Education, and again in 2024 for our Centre for Deaf Education. At the Adult Learning Awards ceremony on 6 November 2024 at City Hall, our Centre for Deaf Education was chosen from over 329 nominations across ten categories. This recognition highlights our ongoing commitment to inclusive learning and the vital role both centres play in making adult education accessible to all.
What is a College of Sanctuary
A College of Sanctuary is part of a national movement that recognises and celebrates institutions that actively welcome and support asylum seekers and refugees. It is a network working to make the UK more inclusive, helping people understand and appreciate the positive impact of those seeking sanctuary, and creating safe, friendly communities where everyone can thrive.
At City Lit, this recognition builds on our long history of inclusivity. We support the College of Sanctuary vision that the UK will be a welcoming place of safety for all, offering sanctuary to people fleeing violence or persecution. Being part of the movement means offering displaced learners the chance to gain qualifications, valuing the skills and knowledge they bring to our community, and working together to build a more compassionate society.
Breaking Barriers – Deaf Refugees at the Royal Ballet
In April 2025, The Breaking Barriers project brought together 11 deaf refugee and migrant students from City Lit to create and perform a powerful dance at the Royal Ballet’s Paul Hamlyn Hall.
Over six weeks, the students collaborated with Royal Ballet and Opera artists to craft a routine inspired by Light of Passage, weaving ballet with traditional dances and sign language that reflected their diverse backgrounds and lived experiences.
The performance not only showcased their resilience and creativity but also offered audiences a moving insight into both Deaf culture and the journeys of refugees, making it a profound exchange of knowledge, expression, and solidarity.
Threads of Solidarity Exhibition
Threads of Solidarity: Human Rights and Justice, hosted at City Lit in February 2025, brought together powerful embroidered works by Bordando por la Memoria, a Chilean transnational textile collective. Created in response to the atrocities of Augusto Pinochet’s dictatorship and wider Cold War repression across Latin America, the project highlighted how craft became a form of protest, remembrance, and resilience for political prisoners, while drawing attention to ongoing struggles faced by Indigenous Mapuche people and democratic activists today. It stands as a reminder of the enduring importance of human rights, justice, and solidarity.
A Mile in My Shoes
A Mile in My Shoes (2021) was an ESOL storytelling project by City Lit in collaboration with the Empathy Museum, funded by the GLA ESOL Plus Arts programme. Over the course of a year, two groups of ESOL learners developed their English and storytelling skills to create digital narratives about their own lives. Inspired by the Empathy Museum’s unique “shoe shop” installation, each student donated a pair of shoes, allowing visitors to literally step into their footwear while listening to their recorded stories of displacement, resilience, and discovery. This immersive experience invited audiences not only to walk a mile in the storytellers’ shoes but also to reflect on empathy, language, and human connection, culminating in a powerful exhibition at the Southbank Centre as part of the London Literature Festival.
Refugee Week 2026
City Lit will mark Refugee Week 2026 (15–21 June) with a programme of online and in‑person courses inspired by the theme “Our Home.” Throughout the week, participants will be able to join sessions such as Rhetoric and Refugees in Politics, Pop Culture and the Press, Climate Change, Food Insecurity and Refugees, Refugees, Entrepreneurship and Business, and Sanctuary in the City: Public Art by Refugees and Immigrants.
These events will create space for learning, reflection, and connection, while also highlighting City Lit’s year‑round support for refugees and asylum seekers through free courses in ESOL, English, maths, and digital skills, helping individuals build confidence, opportunity, and community.
Student Stories
Hossein Khamseh
Ilyaas Cader
Get in touch
Join us in supporting sanctuary seekers and celebrating their journeys of resilience and hope.
Frequently Asked Questions
At City Lit, we believe everyone has the right to learn in safety and dignity. We are committed to supporting sanctuary seekers to achieve their full potential, and we work closely with partners across the college to remove financial barriers wherever possible.
Our Student Services team has extensive experience supporting asylum seekers and refugees, including those studying with Universal Skills and ESOL. Many sanctuary seekers face unique challenges, and we adapt our support to meet individual needs.
If you are a student from a sanctuary seeking background and require further information please contact Caroline Blaxall. If you would like further information about College of Sanctuary please contact Maria Vasquez-Aguilar.
What financial support is available for sanctuary seekers?
Tailored support from Student Services
- At the start of each term, our team visits ESOL and Universal Skills classes to provide clear, accessible information about enrolment, funding, and travel support.
- We offer one to one drop in sessions for anyone who needs advice in a calm, supportive environment, with the option to speak privately if you feel more comfortable
- For deaf refugees, we run dedicated drop ins offering bespoke enrolment and financial guidance.
- When students face challenges with asylum applications or risk being relocated outside London, we can provide letters of support prepared by senior leaders. These have already helped some students remain in London and continue their studies.
Do you help with travel costs?
Yes, we understand that many sanctuary seekers do not have bank accounts, which can make travel difficult.
- Where needed, we can purchase and manage Oyster cards on a student’s behalf so they can travel to their classes.
- Travel support may also be available through the Student Bursary.
Are there payment plans for courses?
If your course costs more than £500 and runs for at least 9 weeks, you may be able to pay in instalments. The number of payments depends on the length of the course, and payments are taken automatically each month.
Find out more about: Payment plans – City LitDo you have a Student Bursary?
Our Student Bursary is a discretionary fund for sanctuary seekers experiencing financial hardship who cannot pay course fees in full.
Find out more about: Student Bursary – City Lit- Each year, over 600 students apply for help with fees, materials, travel, and family care.
- Where students are not eligible for government funding, we may fully fund the course through the City Lit Bursary and provide additional support for travel and materials.
- We never turn anyone away due to financial hardship.
Do you have grants towards travel, materials and exam fees?
Support may be available through the Discretionary Learner Support Fund, which can help with:
Find out more about: Grants towards travel, materials and exam fees – City Lit
- Travel costs
- Course materials
- Exam fees
Can you help with careers or volunteering?
Yes, we work with Universal Skills to identify students who may benefit from careers advice, including refugees seeking voluntary work to help them integrate into the community. This has already led to several students securing opportunities.
The 80s and 90s: innovation
We continued to thrive during the 1980s, and in 1987-88 enrolments topped 15,000 for the first time. In 1987, we grew to take on a community education role, but With the abolition of the Inner London Education Authority in 1990, the community work went to the local adult education institutes in the newly established London boroughs. Enrolments first exceeded 45,000 in 1992/93, with more than 20,000 individual students.
Always innovative, we introduduced the first training for adult education teachers, and were the first to offer Access courses to higher education, as well as launching post-school education for deaf students.
In the 1990s, we were established as a free-standing charitable company (limited by guarantee) and, following the Further and Higher Education Act of 1992, became a ‘specialist designated’ college, funded by the Further Education Funding Council - one of the predecessors of today's Education & Skills Funding Agency.