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People who leave their countries because of persecution and look for safety elsewhere are called 'asylum seekers'. When they arrive in another country and are allowed to stay, they become refugees.

There is nothing new about refugees coming to the UK. During and after the Second World War, 250,000 Polish refugees arrived in the country, and between 1870-1914, 110,000 Jewish refugees fleeing from Eastern Europe arrived in the UK.

� Save the Children

There are about 69,000 refugee children in the UK from many countries and backgrounds. Some of these children have arrived on their own, because they have lost their parents or been separated from them. Every one has their own story to tell. To read about one family's story, choose 'A True Story of a Refugee' from the menu at the top of the page.

All refugee children that arrive in the UK are different. Some of them may have enjoyed a safe family life and a good school in the past. Others may have suffered terrible scenes of violence and horror.

But despite their different backgrounds, all refugee children arriving in the UK share new feelings and experiences. Starting life all over again is really tough. How do you feel when you have to start something new?

Like a new class or a new school �
In the boxes below, you can read some of the things refugee children have said about their feelings when they were experiencing life in the UK for the first time.

Here, I feel safer; I believe I won't get bullied here.

I am not used to the cold weather in the winter here. The food is quite strange too.

I arrived in the UK with none of my own things from home.

I don't understand the jokes that other children make in my class.

No one knows what horrible things I saw before I left my home.

Some students bully me and call me names in the playground.

� David Stewart-Smith/Save the Children

At the moment, my whole family is living in a small room in a Bed and Breakfast and I have nowhere to do my homework.

My parents are finding it difficult to get a job because they don't speak English

I know that I have felt some of these feelings when I went to a new school. I can't imagine how it would feel to experience some of the others. Which of these feelings have you felt in some way? Which ones do you think would be the most difficult to deal with?

cecile jack and harry promote competition

Some of you will know how it feels to go to a new school for the first time. Imagine if you had been forced to leave your home to live in a strange, new country as well � How do you think you would help refugee children to feel welcome in your school so they don't have to experience some of the things they have written? You can use your ideas to take part in our competition, and win some prizes too!

In the UK, where do we learn about refugees? Click on the question marks for clues.

Which of these do you think would give the truest picture of a refugee and their life?

Why are some British people hostile to refugees?

� Howard Davies/Save the Children.

Some people fear anything or anybody that is new. For them, it is difficult to share and learn from cultures that are strange to them. Some people believe that refugees come to the UK because they will be given homes and jobs to make life easier for them. As a result, they think that refugees take away homes and jobs from British people. But of all the people that live in the UK, only 0.3% are refugees.

Also, refugees come here because they are forced to, and adult refugees are usually skilled and educated which can help make this country a better place.

A lot of what we know about refugees comes from what we hear or read in the papers. What do they say about refugees, and are they true? To find out, collect magazine and newspaper articles on refugees.

Some refugees may not find a new home. Instead, they live for some time in a refugee camp. Click on the button below to find out more about life in a refugee camp in Ethiopia.