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A chance to broaden your outlook and foster your desire to learn

It is great to receive news from so many of you and great to read your memories and impressions of Ashwell. Here is an abridged compilation of your letters, emails and comments over the years.

Post your Comments here

Jo Breach wrote to us from home. She is now a successful journalist
reporting for the West Sussex Gazette.

From Spain, Anne sends her best wishes for the 10th Anniversary and
recommends living in Ashwell to anyone studying in London, if they are prepared to participate and learn from others.

Justyna Braun is now in New York and invites us to come along and
visit her. She is a complete expert in tour guides since she has been
living in the metropolitan area for the last six years.

Do we want to include some of these? 2 full pages and it is
a nice way of learning about Ashwell.

Jo Breach wrote to us from home. She is now a successful journalist
reporting for the West Sussex Gazette.

From Spain, Anne sends her best wishes for the 10th Anniversary and
recommends living in Ashwell to anyone studying in London, if they are prepared to participate and learn from others.

Justyna Braun is now in New York and invites us to come along and
visit her. She is a complete expert in tour guides since she has been living in the metropolitan area for the last six years.

Do we want to include some of these? 2 full pages and it is
a nice way of learning about Ashwell.

Jo Breach wrote to us from home. She is now a successful journalist
reporting for the West Sussex Gazette.

From Spain, Anne sends her best wishes for the 10th Anniversary and
recommends living in Ashwell to anyone studying in London, if they are prepared to participate and learn from others.

Justyna Braun is now in New York and invites us to come along and
visit her. She is a complete expert in tour guides since she has been living in the metropolitan area for the last six years.

Do we want to include some of these? 2 full pages and it is
a nice way of learning about Ashwell.

Jo Breach wrote to us from home. She is now a successful journalist
reporting for the West Sussex Gazette.

From Spain, Anne sends her best wishes for the 10th Anniversary and
recommends living in Ashwell to anyone studying in London, if they are prepared to participate and learn from others.

Justyna Braun is now in New York and invites us to come along and
visit her. She is a complete expert in tour guides since she has been living in the metropolitan area for the last six years.

Do we want to include some of these? 2 full pages and it is
a nice way of learning about Ashwell.

You can make an online credit card donation to Ashwell House by Just Giving.

Your gift can go further with Gift Aid!

If you are a UK taxpayer, Gift Aid offers a simple way to increase the value of your gift to Ashwell House by allowing the charity to reclaim the tax on your gift.

What is it?

Gift Aid is one of the simplest and most effective ways of giving to
charity. Using Gift Aid means that for every pound you give, the charity you are supporting will receive an extra 28 pence from the Inland Revenue. This means that a £10 Gift Aid donation, is worth £12.80 to the charity - imagine what a difference that could make to the charity you support, and it doesn't cost you a thing.

On top of this, higher rate taxpayers are eligible to reclaim as much as £23 from the taxman for every £100 donated to charity, by including details of their Gift Aid donations on their Self Assessment form.

Please email info@ashwellhouse.org.uk if you have any questions regarding making a donation to Ashwell House.

Keep in touch with old friends and find out the latest news by
joining the Ashwell Alumni. We would love to hear from you!

50 years of Ashwell

2012 marks the 50th anniversary of the opening of Ashwell House.
Check this site for more details.

Dan Xie

I lived in Ashwell House during 2006 -2007 when I did my masters at Imperial College London. Ashwell provides students with excellent quality accommodation and a comfortable environment to study and live, it is just like your own home. You will make lifelong friends there. Most students are from different countries with different backgrounds, if you are interested in other cultures, this is definitely a nice place to live. If you want to have some peace and quiet and a nice place to stay, Ashwell is the right choice.

Want to keep in touch with us? Join up to our informal Ashwell Alumni email list for regular news and information.

Each year there are opportunities to apply for service projects overseas. In the past, Ashwell residents have worked on projects in Mexico, Kenya, and Peru and more recently in Croatia and Uganda.

Designed to help improve living conditions through education, sanitation, hygiene and nutrition, the projects are always a collaborative effort with local NGOs.

See DHEF for more international volunteering opportunities.

Photos from past overseas projects in Kenya and Mexico are also on our groups Flickr page.

Giving back to the Community

Ashwell has many years of experience organising and promoting volunteering both in the local community and abroad. Residents can avail of different opportunities to give something back to the community.

Older people can often feel socially isolated and lonely, disconnected and sometimes filled with despair. Spending some time keeping them company can help them feel supported and give them a sense of belonging. It is amazing how a one-to-one relationship – listening, engaging in a friendly conversation and taking a real interest - can make such a difference to their lives. Visits are either to an elderly person’s house or to a home for the elderly.

Last June, a group of Ashwellians visited St Anne’s Care Home for the Elderly in Stoke Newington and entertained them with a concert. It was an opportunity to get to know and interact with the elderly residents. And it was a rewarding experience not just for the residents of St Anne’s but for the Ashwellians as well.

There are more than 4,500 homeless people in London. Lend a hand at a Soup Kitchen, giving out hot meals to rough sleepers.

‘I was already aware of the homeless problem but then I heard about the soup kitchen and wanted to help out somehow.

Going to the soup kitchen is a really good way to be close to people who are in need and relate to them. It’s only a little sacrifice – just a couple of hours preparing and giving out food to people who might otherwise not get a hot meal or any food that day.

Homeless people suffer a lot in the streets and sometimes are treated like rats, shooed off and looked down on. But in the soup kitchen, when you are there and look into their eyes, they are thankful for that little bit of effort that you’ve made. When you can offer them something, it’s heart warming. It makes a difference. It really does.’

Magdalene Lee
Central Saint Martins College, University of the Arts.

Giving back to the community

The Baytree Centre provides supportive pathways towards social inclusion for inner city families in the Brixton area. This happens through integrated educational and training programmes for women and girls from socially disadvantaged communities that generate solutions which consider the unity of the whole person. Baytree offers training, education, skills and opportunities for professional and personal development to women and young people.

Volunteers can support Baytree in after-school youth activities such as study support, cookery classes, science club and art activities for local girls aged 8 – 18.

Volunteering with the little girls in Baytree is very inspiring.

Whatever you’re involved in whether it be Reading Comprehension and Literacy, Science, Cookery or Maths, you will always learn a lot and feel incredibly good for sparing one or two hours of your time. I’ve been volunteering in Baytree for about four months now and I really enjoy the welcoming atmosphere, the constant support from the staff, the million little ‘inputs’ you receive to improve yourself and do something good. I would recommend it to anyone!

Irene Negri
London Metropolitan University

Ashwell is a wholesome melting pot of cultures and personalities, but many students leave supporting a common streak that reflects our mission. Here are some former residents’ appraisals of their time spent here:

Ashwell was a great place to stay when I studied in London.

It provided a great family atmosphere and a great place to experiment, live with people from different countries and develop myself as a person. It definitely contributed to becoming self confident about my career choice and gave me opportunity to develop creative and personal skills indispensable for success.

Maloles Antignac, Paris, France
Graduated in Journalism

Maloles always had a sense of style about her. I remember the day she arrived back in Ashwell, having just bought a pair of red tartan shorts, something only she could pull off. After a degree in Journalism, Maloles entered the world of fashion publishing. In 2004 she launched her shoe collection in Paris and since then her brand has gone from strength to strength.

See more of Maloles work at www.maloles.com

Ashwell played such an important part in my university life in London.

I really appreciated the high quality of the accommodation and the friendly family-like ambiance, with plenty of activities of all sorts available for whenever you need to have a break from your books. I particularly enjoyed the cultural and sporting ones. Ashwell is founded on the principle that everyone is potential friend, and that makes for a great atmosphere. I formed good friendships while I was there.

Hannah Ashfield, Kent, UK
Graduated in Classics

How did Ashwell help me?

I did think about this question, but not for too long, since it became evident to me quite quickly that Ashwell is Ashwell because of its people.

It was our beloved tea-room where a very ambitious fellow Ashwellian convinced me to apply to Oxford. With all the paperwork and tests to do, and the slight chances of acceptance, I would have given up before! Thanks Ingrid.

This is Ashwell. Always a friendly and welcoming place to live, and that is due to the residents, a colourful mixture of ambitious young women.

Marieluise Maiwald Frankfurt, Germany
Graduated in Business Studies

My Stay in Ashwell was very valuable in terms of learning the "real" value of service...

My stay in Ashwell was very valuable in terms of learning the "real" value of service that which is independent of profession, studies, and even culture. I now work as a General Manager and Marketing Director for an IT company in Sydney and am fortunate enough to be in a position where I can have a direct influence on the corporate practice of ethics and values within my company.

Thanks to Ashwell, I now realise that regardless of their position or standing, everyone has a responsibility to value others.

Karinne Brannigan, Sydney, Australia
Graduated in Marketing

I now live in Miami and keep memories from Ashwell that are hard to forget.

I met amazing people from many different cultures, most of them searching for the same ideals. I have never seen so many people fighting for their beliefs in such a consistent way. Good people, or at least trying to be good, which is more important.

Cristina Martinez Caballero, Miami, Florida
Graduated in Marketing

Ashwell created a "new mind-set" for me.

It helped me view things in a different light and fostered an awareness and understanding of other cultures. Today I combine my professional work as a Speech Therapist with a great involvement in my local community. Already this year I have seen amazing miracles. To change the world is not a dream!

Nuala Ribeiro, Mombasa, Kenya
Graduated in Speech Therapy

At Ashwell I learnt to be positive.

Although I combine work and family, being a mother and a wife is my priority. I’d like my children to learn the values I learnt from you.

Haruna Nakao, Tokyo, Japan
Graduated in Music

Pastoral care at Ashwell House has been entrusted to Opus Dei. Opus Dei is a Catholic institution founded by St Josemaria Escriva. Its mission is to help people turn their work and daily activities into opportunities for growing closer to God, for serving others, and improving society.

The inspiration for a residence of this kind was given by St Josemaria Escriva, founder of Opus Dei, who helped ordinary Christian people to live life to the full, facing up to the demands of modern society in a positive way, realizing that it is possible to make a difference, particularly by having prestige in one’s professional work and having a genuine concern for others, for everybody!

Everyone has their part to play in order to bring Christian values to the place were they live (it is not for a select few) whilst at the same time, knowing how to enjoy all the many compatible good things in life.

The arts play an important part in our lives. They broaden horizons, stimulate new thinking, provide enjoyment and raise our aspirations.

They can inspire us and lift our spirits. The arts provide opportunities for expression and creativity; appreciating beauty and evoking our emotions in a healthy way.

The Hall is a great space for exhibitions with its high ceiling and natural lighting. In 2008 a calligraphy exhibition was held in Ashwell. In December 2010 a former resident Nadia Bettega had a very
successful photography exhibition on human rights. www.nadiabettega.com.

In July 2010 Home Heritage had their project gallery displayed in
Ashwell.

Learn English in London

Ashwell runs two residential English language courses each summer for girls 15-19 years old. Classes, taught by native English speakers are held in the morning. In the afternoons there is a chance to visit different places of interest around London. Cultural activities like going the theatre or social events are organised in the evenings.

There are weekly excursions to places such as Oxford, Cambridge, Windsor and Hampton Court. Students are always accompanied on the outings by teachers or course organisers. Students can take the Trinity College exam at the end of the course.

Full room and board, language tuition, exam fees, travel within London, theatre tickets and entrance admissions are all included in the cost of the course.

Dates 2011
Course 1: 20th June- 10th July
Course 2: 11th July- 1st August

To find out more about Ashwell’s summer course for 2011 and request an application form, please send an email to - info@ashwellhouse.org.uk

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Ashwell House strives to create an atmosphere of intellectual enquiry and encourage stimulating discussion through the organisation of seminars and workshops that open up new horizons.

Development lectures
Medical Ethics workshops
Philosophy seminars
Law seminars
Cultural talks
Study techniques workshops

Guest speakers in the past have included Rosa Lastra, Professor in International Finance and Monetary Law of the Centre of Commercial Law Studies, Professor Anne Dugan of Kings College London’s History Department and Professor Robert Chambers of the Institute of Development Studies.

Fostering a desire to learn

Ashwell is more than just a hall of residence. We are a university community concerned not only with the acquisition of knowledge or professional expertise, but with the attitudes that foster the desire to enquire, to learn and to serve, long after one’s university days are over.

Sam Pleasants
Director, 1998 - 2006