This year’s Schools of Sanctuary Awards took place the week after Refugee Week, but the spirit of welcome, compassion and celebration remained just as strong! Pupils, teachers, governors and supporters gathered at the Taliesin Arts Centre to celebrate the schools across Swansea and Gower that are helping to build communities where everyone feels they belong.
The annual awards are delivered through the continued partnership between Swansea City of Sanctuary, Swansea Council’s Education Directorate, and our dedicated Schools of Sanctuary panel. Trustee Funmilayo Olaniyan opened the ceremony with her usual warmth and enthusiasm, welcoming everyone to what proved to be an uplifting morning!
Helen Morgan-Rees, Director of Education at Swansea Council, also welcomed attendees, encouraging pupils to continue leading the way in creating schools where kindness, understanding and inclusion are part of everyday life.
Celebrating Our 2026 Award-Winning Schools
This year we were delighted to celebrate six schools who have demonstrated their commitment to creating safe, welcoming and inclusive learning environments for all.
Congratulations to:
- Newton Primary
- Whitestone Primary
- St Joseph’s Cathedral Primary (Award Renewal)
- Llanrhidian Primary
- Gors Community Primary
- St David’s Primary
Each school brought something unique to the celebration, sharing moving performances that reflected what sanctuary means to their pupils.
Newton Primary gave a presentation about their School Council has lead their sanctuary journey, with the aim to become a place of welcome. Whitestone Primary shared a thoughtful video highlighting their own School of Sanctuary journey.
St Joseph’s Cathedral Primary introduced a student who performed powerful poetry from his own perspective of moving to Wales from Ukraine.
Following a short comfort break, Llanrhidian Primary presented a video celebrating the work taking place across their school community, before Gors Community Primary shared moving poetry that reflected the importance of kindness and inclusion.
The ceremony concluded with a presentation from St David’s Primary, showcasing the work they have undertaken to create a welcoming environment for everyone.
Throughout the morning, the children demonstrated remarkable empathy and understanding of what it can mean to seek sanctuary. Through poetry, song, storytelling and performance, they explored themes of hope, belonging and welcome with confidence and creativity.
Inspiring Guest Speakers
We were honoured to welcome Rocio Cifuentes, Children’s Commissioner for Wales, who shared her own experiences of arriving in Swansea as part of a refugee family. Speaking directly to the children, Rocio reflected on how those early experiences shaped her life and explained the important role she now plays in standing up for the rights of children across Wales.
The ceremony concluded with Sian Summers-Rees, Chief Officer of City of Sanctuary UK, who reminded everyone that creating places of welcome is something we can all contribute to every day.
“The ceremony was very uplifting, at times quite moving, and above all very uniting, especially when one school performed “The World in Union”.
– Member of the Schools of Sanctuary panel
Thank You
A huge congratulations to every pupil, member of staff and school community recognised this year. Your commitment to building welcoming schools continues to make Swansea and Gower places where everyone can belong.
Thank you to our Schools of Sanctuary Panel – Carys Davies, Cerian Appleby, Elaine Rees, Dr. Martha Ako and Funmilayo Olaniyan – for giving their time and expertise to visit schools and support the accreditation process.
As always, a special thank you also goes to Ruth Castle from Swansea Council’s Education Directorate, whose dedication and organisation once again made this wonderful celebration possible!
Finally, thank you to everyone who joined us at the Taliesin to celebrate another inspiring year of Schools of Sanctuary. We look forward to seeing even more schools begin their sanctuary journeys in the year ahead.
If your school is interested in becoming a School of Sanctuary, please visit the Schools of Sanctuary page on the City of Sanctuary UK website or get in touch with us at swansea@cityofsanctuary.org.