Kindness is one of our key values. We strive to make every student feel safe, valued, and genuinely welcome.
Our team receives dedicated trauma-informed training to ensure we understand your experiences and can support you with empathy and respect.
From day one, you will be supported by staff who care about your wellbeing as much as your education.
A College of Sanctuary supports asylum seekers and refugees. College of Sanctuary is an award from the City of Sanctuary UK.
The colleges create a culture of welcome and a safe environment for people seeking sanctuary. We support the ‘City of Sanctuary’ vision that the UK will be a welcoming place of safety for all, offering sanctuary to people fleeing violence and persecution.
As part of our commitment to this vision we:
On this webpage we list relevant information, support and opportunities available for students seeking sanctuary (including refugees and asylum seekers) to help address barriers to access.
A sanctuary seeker is a refugee or asylum seeker. An asylum seeker is someone who has fled a country due to war, persecution or being unsafe and makes a formal application for asylum in another country. A refugee is someone who has also left their country because they were unsafe but has been granted leave to remain.
The Student Life team is available to support you with welfare (housing, money problems), careers (support with getting a job), and wellbeing (support with mental health). Speak to a member of staff when you start college about the support you need.
Depending on your age, circumstances and course, you may be eligible for help with travel, meals and other study costs. We will help you check what support you can receive when you apply.
You need to be in the UK for 6 months before you can join a course. This is due to the restrictions on funding.
If you are applying for English (ESOL) courses, go to these pages:
16-18:
https://leedscitycollege.ac.uk/courses/esol-16-18/
19+:
https://leedscitycollege.ac.uk/courses/english-for-speakers-of-other-languages-19/
If you have English Language qualifications, then please browse our directory of courses:
https://leedscitycollege.ac.uk/courses
If you are unsure about your funding rights, please take a look at this webpage:
https://www.reuk.org/college-and-further-education
You can speak to someone when you apply for a course and they will be able to help you.
To be recognised as a College of Sanctuary, colleges must submit an online application showcasing the work they have done against the following themes:
Learn: Colleges help their students, staff and wider community learn about what it means to be seeking sanctuary and the issues surrounding forced migration.
Embed: Colleges are committed to creating a safe and inclusive culture of welcome that benefits everybody, including anyone in their community seeking sanctuary.
Share: Colleges share their values and activities with their local communities.
Enrolment paperwork
Please bring any of the following documents that you have available. Don’t worry if you cannot provide everything listed. Contact us and we will discuss alternative evidence with you.
Proof of residency
We accept the following forms of ID and proof of residency:
Proof of support
1. If you are seeking asylum and or receiving asylum support (NASS Section 95 or Section 4) and/or subsistence support, you should bring:
2. If you are under the care of the local authority (regardless of your immigration status) you should bring:
3. If you receive public funds including section 95 and section 4 (NASS), a recently dated letter confirming the relevant support is needed – especially universal credit (UC), job seekers’ allowance, housing benefit, and/or child tax credit.
Proof of previous qualifications
If you have certificates of your previous qualifications from your home country, it is important to bring them to your enrolment appointment. This will help the college admissions team to make a good assessment of your current academic skills, saving you from having to study at a lower level of education than your ability warrants. UK ENIC is the national agency responsible for the recognition and comparison of international qualifications and skills. They provide statements of comparability for people who have international qualifications and want to study in the UK.
If you have qualifications from your home country, but do not have (and cannot retrieve) the certificates or transcripts, contact our admissions team on 0113 386 1997 or via email at contact@leedscitycollege.ac.uk to discuss alternative ways of assessing your academic level and recommend the level of education that you can enrol on in line with your core interest. We understand that many students from a forced migration background are unable to prove the qualification that they achieved in their home country because their certificates or transcripts have been lost or destroyed and we will work to stop this being a barrier to accessing a suitable course.
Leeds City College takes part in the national Refugee Week festival every year and hosts a variety of events and activities for staff, students and the wider community.
Refugee Week has provided our staff and student community with a powerful opportunity to engage in everything from hosting international days to joining, or launching, campaigns. The week also allows staff and students to come together to share their experiences and the challenges they’ve had to overcome.
