Refugee Week: The Theme of Courage KS3 Resource

A powerful and thought-provoking Key Stage 3 Refugee Week resource exploring the theme of courage. This lesson-style presentation helps students understand what it means to leave everything behind, why people seek safety, and why refugee experiences matter to all of us.

The resource is designed to encourage empathy, critical thinking and meaningful discussion. It includes factual explanations, reflective tasks, creative activities and student leadership opportunities, making it ideal for Refugee Week 2026, PSHE, citizenship, English or tutor time.

What’s included

• KS3 Refugee Week presentation
• Clear explanation of refugee and asylum seeker terminology
• Introduction to the 1951 Refugee Convention
• Suitcase challenge opening activity
• Discussion of why people leave home
• Famous refugee examples, including Albert Einstein and Freddie Mercury
• Global journey map activity
• Video reflection task
• Brian Bilston “Refugees” poetry activity
• Refugee Rights Shield creative task
• Small Acts, Big Impact action slide
• Little Amal case study
• Student leadership planning activity
• Reflective writing task
• British values link
• Final call to action and pledge

Perfect for

• Refugee Week 2026
• KS3 assemblies
• PSHE lessons
• Citizenship lessons
• English lessons
• Tutor time
• Diversity and inclusion work
• British values teaching
• SMSC
• Empathy and moral reflection
• Student leadership projects

Key learning

Students will explore:

• what it means to be a refugee
• the difference between a refugee and an asylum seeker
• why people may be forced to leave their homes
• how war, persecution, violence and disaster affect people’s lives
• why refugee journeys can be dangerous and uncertain
• how refugee stories are about people, not just statistics
• how art, poetry and storytelling can build empathy
• how refugees contribute to communities
• what courage looks like in real life
• how young people can take meaningful action

Activities included

• Suitcase Challenge
• Think-pair-share discussion
• Global journey reflection
• Video note-taking task
• Poetry annotation activity
• Refugee Rights Shield design task
• Little Amal discussion
• Student leadership planning
• Reflective journal writing
• Call to action task

Suggested use

Use as a KS3 assembly, PSHE lesson, citizenship lesson or tutor-time resource during Refugee Week 2026. The reflective writing task and creative rights shield can also be used as follow-up classroom activities.

Resource format

• KS3 presentation
• Discussion prompts included
• Creative and written tasks included
• Suitable for Years 7, 8 and 9
• Can be adapted for assembly, lesson or tutor time

A meaningful and engaging Refugee Week resource that helps students understand courage, empathy and the importance of building a safer, more welcoming community for everyone.