Miss Damerall, Headteacher loves her live music and after a chance meeting with Steve Hogarth (Mr h), lead singer of Marillion, a conversation was had about Hope Flowers School in Bethlehem, a school, which the band have recently supported and helped raise donations for.  

After realising how unbelievable the two schools are in our beliefs, Miss Damerall (Miss D) contacted Issa Ibrahim, the founder.   

Roselyn House and Hope Flowers are now linked schools and are in the process of setting up a project with our young people where they will communicate with each other and take part in joint activities. This is very exciting for all students and helps them to feel a sense of self, understanding of others in the World and helps towards bridging a divide of our future generations; whilst fostering mutually beneficial and respectful friendships within those that don’t always feel that they can trust or be cared for. 

We aim also to share practice with Teachers and therapists in order to provide resources, ideas, suggestions and soundbites in attachment awareness and SEN Teaching methods. We have secured the help of translators for this too. 

Hope Flowers School is located in the occupied Westbank, where their young people are regularly confronted with the consequences of occupation: the separation wall that runs through Bethlehem, military checkpoints, aggression, road blocks and soldiers in the streets. Many of the young people have some form of trauma in various degrees of depth, which influences their behaviour and academic results. Many children also are affected by poverty, malnutrition and lack of perspective. 

They aim to provide education for the “well-being” of humanity and provide children with an opportunity that they wouldn’t normally be able to receive. They operate very much on Human Rights Education values including democracy, social justice, human rights, the empowerment of women & youth, and training for peaceful resolution of conflict among diverse peoples of the world. 

The school empowers students to develop their capacity for independent, creative thought as well as compassion for a variety of human experience.  

The school is independent and is funded from charitable donations. Roselyn House School have linked with Friends of Hope Flowers in the UK, US and Netherlands. 

This is a great opportunity for both our schools and likeminded individuals, who through differing circumstances have the same passion and drive to improve the lives of future generations. It is our hope as an outcome of this project that we can raise awareness of the lack of Mental Health support in the UK and increase support/ acknowledgment of the work done at Hope Flowers, bringing young people together to break down barriers and encourage diversity, acceptance and positive communication. This allows our young people to become ethically aware and care about the well-being of others which in itself improves self-worth, dignity and confidence. It provides our young people with a belief in the future and gives them hope.  

‘Where there is Hope, flowers grow!’