HubL

28/04/2026

📢 We are delighted to announce our new, temporary venues for assessments.
From next week (starting Tuesday 5th May) we will be at:

Mondays 10:30 to 13:00
St. Stephens Church, 2 Rampant Horse St, Norwich NR2 1QP

Tuesdays 13:30 to 16:00
New Routes Free Shop, 1120 Catherine Wheel Opening, Norwich NR3 3BQ

Sessions are available to book now at www.hubl.org.uk. As always, please book your assessment in advance on our website.

A thousand thanks to the many organisations who offered to host HubL during this time. Your support has been truly overwhelming.

21/04/2026

Today will be our last day of assessments at Norfolk and Norwich Millennium Library for a while. Huge thanks to our friends across the Norwich VCSE sector who have kindly offered to host HubL whilst the library is closed for refurbishment. Please bear with us! We are finalising the new arrangements, and assessments will recommence from May 5th. Booking for the new sessions opens next week at

15/04/2026

IMPORTANT
HubL will be affected by the temporary closure of Norwich Library. Our last available session there will be on 21st April. If you are thinking about booking an assessment with us, please book a slot now.

We are working hard to find an alternative venue, and we'll share updates here as soon as we can. You can find more information on our website www.hubl.org.uk.

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1B8ifZpYJB/?mibextid=wwXIfr

📚 Norfolk and Norwich Millennium Library – Temporary Closure 📚

From Monday 27 April until mid‑July, the Norfolk and Norwich Millennium Library will be temporarily closed while we carry out an exciting refurbishment – the biggest upgrade since the library opened 25 years ago inside The Forum, Norwich.

👉 This work affects the library only – The Forum will remain open throughout.

The changes are based on your feedback, so what’s coming?
• A redesigned early years library (it’s River themed!)
• New, dedicated spaces for 8+ children and teens
• A bookshop‑style entrance for easier browsing
• More study space on the first floor
• Lower shelving, clearer signage and better wayfinding
• Updated lighting, new furniture with built‑in power points
• A new space for events and talks

🛠️ Why a full closure?
We know this will be disruptive for a couple of months. But closing the whole library at once allows the work to be completed sooner, it’s much safer and it’ll come in at a lower cost than closing one area at a time.

But don’t despair! We have worked hard to keep some services going during the temporary closure. That includes…
✅ A borrowing and return service inside The Forum (albeit on a smaller scale)
✅ Some regular groups and activities will continue, hosted in The Gallery at The Forum
✅ Period products and baby weighing facilities still available (baby weigh during Bounce & Rhyme sessions only)

Sadly, some of our usual facilities will be temporarily unavailable:
🚫 Public computers and printing (still available at other local libraries)
🚫 Study spaces and room bookings
🚫 Norfolk Heritage Centre and Business and IP Centre Norfolk.

We’ll share more details over the next couple of weeks.

Thank you for your patience – we can’t wait to welcome you back to a transformed library space 💙📖

27/03/2026

Today HubL hosted a forum to discuss what’s going well and what could be improved in ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages) provision in & around Norwich. It was fantastic to gather together representatives from City College Norwich, Adult Learning, East Coast College, New Routes Integration, NILE, Norfolk and Norwich Millennium Library, Norwich City Council, NATECLA and The Bridge Plus for a morning of information sharing and brainstorming. More to come when we have summarised all those post-its!

26/02/2026

Introducing Mariami Mesablishvili: Mariami arrived in Norwich from Georgia three years ago and is taking a Level 2 English class at City College Norwich as well as helping fellow-Georgians to master basic English. With a background in banking and customer service, Mariami is now studying bookkeeping. She is keen to improve the experience of people arriving in Norfolk by bringing her skills to HubL as one of our new directors. Welcome, Mariami!

23/02/2026

Introducing Samed Guzeltas: Samed arrived in Norwich from Turkey in 2019. He studied hard during Covid and passed the IELTS English exam, enabling him to undertake a Masters in Computer Science at UEA. He now teaches coding at Sky Tech Academy as well as volunteering. Samed is keen to develop HubL’s work in Norfolk by offering his skills as one of our new directors. Welcome, Samed!

20/02/2026

HubL is delighted to announce that we have appointed two new directors. Welcome to Mariami Mesablishvili and Samed Guzeltas! Both have experience of learning English in Norwich and will help us shape and develop the service. Stay tuned for a full introduction to each of them.

05/01/2026

Happy new year to all our learners, referrers and supporters!
Do you know someone who wants to improve their English in 2026? The first step is to book an assessment with HubL. Head to www.hubl.org.uk to find out when and where. Our friendly team will guide them to the most appropriate English class for their level.

15/11/2025

Would you like to join us?
HubL is looking for an additional director with lived experience to support our mission of helping refugees, asylum seekers and migrants to access the right English language classes for them. You will represent the voice of learners, helping us to govern our organisation and set our future strategy.
We are looking for someone who
- has experience of migrating to the UK
- learned English as a second language
- can demonstrate strategic thinking skills
- can understand and discuss documents, strategy & budgets in English
- is confident enough to offer robust challenge in meetings
- lives in Norfolk
- has time to attend 4 evening meetings per year.
HubL is a successful, growing Community Interest Company providing a vital service for the ESOL community in Norfolk.
This could be a great opportunity for the right person to contribute to the community and gain valuable insight into the VCSE sector.
If you are interested, please email [email protected] telling us about yourself.

02/10/2025

(Slightly belated) Happy Birthday to us! HubL launched on 1st October 2024 and in our first year we’ve assessed 371 learners, with 75% going on to enrol on an appropriate English course. Massive thanks to our funders, and to the community of organisations welcoming refugees, asylum seekers and migrants into Norfolk who have worked with us to make HubL a success. Special shout-out to Norfolk Library and Information Service for hosting our sessions in Norwich (and, as of next week, Great Yarmouth); to James Hopper our design and tech guru; and most of all to Nicky Turner the driving force behind HubL.