Our Summer of Service text is surrounded by images of our students during their service projects.
As we begin a new academic year, we have been looking back on an incredible summer for our Ursuline Links students.
For two weeks in July, the young people stepped out into schools, parishes and community organisations, serving others with generosity, enthusiasm and compassion. While these summer placements lasted only a short time, they represented the culmination of a year's worth of learning, discussion and personal growth.
Throughout the year, our young people explored what it means to be of service to others, in the spirit of St Angela, reflected on issues of social justice and developed the confidence to become active members of their communities. This summer gave them the opportunity to put those values into action.
Bringing Joy to Day Camp
In the first week of the summer holidays, half of our Ursuline Links students volunteered at our annual Day Camp, organised in partnership with the Newham Deanery and hosted at St Angela's Ursuline School.
Together, they helped create four memorable days for 24 local children, filled with arts and crafts, sports, games and a fantastic trip to Lambourne End where the children got to take part in team building, animal feeding and archery.
Students arrived early to prepare activities, supported the children throughout the day and helped create an environment where everyone felt included, safe and valued. As the week progressed, we watched many of them grow in confidence. Those who had been nervous at the start of the week became comfortable leading activities, solving problems and building positive relationships with the children.
One of the most rewarding parts of the week was seeing the younger children look up to the students and the genuine connections that developed between them. By the end of the week, there was a real sense of pride in everything that had been achieved together. There were tired faces, a few tearful goodbyes and the feeling that everyone had been part of something special.
Serving the Wider Community
While one group was running, singing, crafting and playing games at Day Camp, the second group spent the following week supporting a diverse range of community organisations.
We are incredibly grateful to Margate Foodbank, Wimbledon Foodbank, Redbridge Foodbank, S.M.I.L.E Romford, Morland Road Project, Chestnut Manor Care Home, SVP Southend and Jesuit Refugee Service UK for welcoming our young people so warmly and allowing them to experience their work first hand.
Across the week, the young people organised food stores, supported service users, helped with practical tasks and contributed wherever they were needed. Some worked directly with people accessing services, while others worked behind the scenes to ensure those services could continue operating effectively.
For many, the placements offered an opportunity to encounter experiences and challenges they had never previously considered. They saw communities supporting one another in practical ways and discovered that even small acts of service can have a significant impact.
As St Angela Merici reminds us:
"You have more need to serve others than to be served."
Looking back, it was clear that our young people gained just as much from the experience as the organisations they supported.
Listening, Learning and Growing
Three students spent their placement at Jesuit Refugee Service UK, where they learned more about the experiences of refugees and asylum seekers while supporting the organisation's work.
Their reflections (published in the JRS Autumn 2026 issue of Together magazine) demonstrate the impact that week had on them:
"Working at JRS UK helped me to gain knowledge and understanding of how people come to the UK and manage to live here with little to nothing and still have the motivation to be strong."
"This experience has changed my perspective on my life. It helps me to realise how grateful I am for the life I can live."
"Volunteering at JRS UK was an extremely fulfilling and enriching experience. I learnt new things about the state of the world and the experiences of refugees and how we can help them."
"JRS UK is an amazing institution that I think all young people should experience. You're able to make a direct, immediate impact to our community and witness the fruits of our labour in real time."
These reflections capture perfectly what Ursuline Links is about. Service is not simply something we do for others. It is an opportunity to learn, to grow and to see the world through a different lens.
Looking Ahead
As we reflect on everything our students achieved over the summer, we are also excited to look ahead.
This year, Ursuline Links will be guided by a new theme:
Called. Connected. Community.
These words capture so much of what we witnessed throughout the summer and we are bringing these words into our programme for 2026/27.
Our students are called to step beyond their comfort zones and offer their gifts in service of others.
They become connected to people and communities whose experiences differ from their own, developing deeper understanding and empathy along the way.
And through their commitment, energy and compassion, they help strengthen community wherever they serve.
Looking back on the summer, we could not be prouder of all that our students achieved. We are grateful to every partner organisation, school, parish and family who supported them on their journey.
Most of all, we are grateful to the students themselves, who demonstrated that young people are not simply the future of our communities; they are already making a difference today.