YEAR nine geography students at Tavistock College had the opportunity to expand their classroom learning on population and migration, with a visit from a Plymouth-based organisation called START (Students and Refugees Together).

START recognises the skills and experience asylum seekers and refugees bring to the city and utilises the strengths and skills of the community to support them.

START aim is to educate students by getting them to focus on how they would feel if they were a refugee in Britain; to help them empathise with the journey of a refugee to the UK and the reception they get from the wider society.

The talk hopes to enable students to see through negative hype about many refugees and encourages them to think about what they could do to change attitudes.

During the seminars the students completed a variety of activities and were able to interact with five guest speakers.

Tori Froud, geography teacher, said: 'Geography in Action is so important in teaching this subject. As fieldtrips are not always feasible for certain topics, allowing the students to work with specialists in the subjects is an invaluable resource.'

It is hoped that a relationship between Year nine geography students and START will be established, to raise awareness of local refugees and their plight.