0:00:02 > 0:00:04CHATTER
0:00:11 > 0:00:16Marsh Academy is a school in my own diocese of Canterbury.
0:00:16 > 0:00:19'Today I've been meeting and chatting to some of the students,
0:00:19 > 0:00:22'an experience I found very uplifting.'
0:00:24 > 0:00:26Sodium hydroxide...
0:00:26 > 0:00:27It is amazing, isn't it?
0:00:27 > 0:00:30Yeah. The water turns... It just stays the same.
0:00:30 > 0:00:32Just stays... Just gets more diluted.
0:00:32 > 0:00:33Diluted, yeah.
0:00:35 > 0:00:37I had the honour to meet privately
0:00:37 > 0:00:40an inspiring boy, who at just 14,
0:00:40 > 0:00:43fled his homeland in North Africa
0:00:43 > 0:00:45after soldiers stormed his school
0:00:45 > 0:00:48and attempted to abduct him.
0:00:48 > 0:00:50He was saved by a courageous teacher, but was
0:00:50 > 0:00:55so terrified that it would happen again, he decided to escape.
0:00:55 > 0:00:59This is just one example of the many desperate journeys
0:00:59 > 0:01:02children are making on their own to save their lives.
0:01:18 > 0:01:21This school represents the best of what we can do in this country.
0:01:23 > 0:01:26It welcomes. It loves. It serves.
0:01:26 > 0:01:28It teaches and equips people
0:01:28 > 0:01:32and demonstrates our ability to live up to our long-established
0:01:32 > 0:01:35tradition of warmth and hospitality.
0:01:35 > 0:01:37We've got ham and turkey. Would you like some of each?
0:01:37 > 0:01:40- Yeah, that'd be lovely. - Or this is the vegetarian.
0:01:40 > 0:01:41No, I'll stick with ham and turkey.
0:01:41 > 0:01:44Thank you very, very much, Debbie. That's really kind of you.
0:01:44 > 0:01:46You're more than welcome.
0:01:46 > 0:01:49The leisure centre next door, is that for the whole community's use?
0:01:49 > 0:01:50- Yeah.- Yeah.
0:01:52 > 0:01:57- This is my lovely Year H class. - It's very nice to see you.
0:01:58 > 0:02:01What we're going to be doing today is we're going to be making some
0:02:01 > 0:02:04indicator using poinsettia.
0:02:06 > 0:02:09- You've put the water in. - Yeah. We've put a little bit in...
0:02:11 > 0:02:13CHATTER
0:02:13 > 0:02:15'It's not a rich school.'
0:02:15 > 0:02:19Many families in the area are struggling on a day-to-day basis
0:02:19 > 0:02:24and yet this school and surrounding community are astonishingly generous.
0:02:24 > 0:02:26If they can do it, so can we all.
0:02:26 > 0:02:30Visiting here brings to mind a chapel in Canterbury Cathedral that
0:02:30 > 0:02:34was set aside in the 16th century for refugees fleeing
0:02:34 > 0:02:36persecution in France.
0:02:36 > 0:02:40An inscription outside the chapel calls it
0:02:40 > 0:02:44a "testimony alike to the large and liberal spirit of the English Church
0:02:44 > 0:02:48"and the glorious asylum which England has in all times given to
0:02:48 > 0:02:53"foreigners flying for refuge against oppression and tyranny."
0:02:54 > 0:02:57Jesus was a refugee.
0:02:57 > 0:02:59Fleeing as a baby with his parents,
0:02:59 > 0:03:03returning years later to a strange new home.
0:03:03 > 0:03:07He tells us to be those who welcome the alien and stranger,
0:03:07 > 0:03:11the poor and weak. As a nation we have always done so.
0:03:11 > 0:03:14In today's world, hospitality
0:03:14 > 0:03:19and love are our most formidable weapons against hatred and extremism.
0:03:31 > 0:03:34I have met some extraordinary people today,
0:03:34 > 0:03:38from this area and those who have risked their lives to find safety.
0:03:39 > 0:03:43The hospitality of people here brings love, hope and joy.
0:03:44 > 0:03:49If we imitate them, society becomes a far better place.
0:03:49 > 0:03:52I wish you all a happy New Year filled with hope.