UEA STAR will be running / walking / cycling / swimming 636 miles - the distance between STAR’s furthest groups - University of London Institute in Paris, to the University of Stirling - in order to raise money towards the Equal Access campaign! The fundraising will take place until the 16th of December. 

Student Action for Refugees (STAR) is the national network of students who are building a more welcoming and just society for people seeking asylum in the UK. We provide practical support and connect communities through volunteering, improving access to university, campaigning for policy change, and shifting the narrative about asylum by sharing stories from people who have lived experience of being a refugee. Our vision is a society where refugees are welcomed and can thrive in the UK.

In the UK, people seeking asylum are unfairly locked out of university. They are treated as international students, don't have access to student finance, and are not allowed to work. When they arrive in the UK after fleeing war and persecution, they face many challenges in claiming their right to asylum and accessing support to continue their studies.

Your support will help us to make more dreams a reality for aspiring refugee students. At a time when many people are being forced to flee their homes in Afghanistan and rebuild their lives here, our work is needed more than ever.

Here are just a few of the things that the Equal Access campaign achieved last year:

- Provided information and advice to 527 current and aspiring refugee students.

- Supported 11 universities to develop scholarships for refugees, and delivered training events for 192 university staff.

- Campaigned for Equal Access to higher education at 12 universities and held student-led open days for nearly 100 people.

- Hosted a Refugee Scholars conference for 63 aspiring and current students and set up a peer support network.

- Launched a new online mentoring project, matching our trained network of volunteers to support 59 aspiring refugee students with their UCAS and scholarship applications.