The UK’s biggest exam board, Pearson Edexcel, launched a new GCSE History topic, Migrants in Britain, c800-present and Notting Hill, c1948-c1970, at the Migration Museum on 6 October 2021, attended by teachers and educators from across the country.

 

The new topic was announced by Sharon Hague, Managing Director, Pearson School Qualifications, and the event included a panel discussion featuring Kwame Boateng, lead educator at The Black Curriculum; Aaron Skepple, History Consultant at Harris Federation; Samantha Slater, subject leader of History at Chatham Grammar School; and Martin Spafford, retired school history teacher and Honorary Fellow of the Schools History Project and the Historical Association, who sits on our Education Steering Committee. The event was hosted by Emily Miller, our Head of Learning and Partnerships. You can watch highlights of the event and panel discussion via the videos  below.

With the launch of Pearson Edexcel’s new option, all exam boards now offer a migration option at History GCSE, meaning that millions of children now have the opportunity to learn more about our migration history. We hope as many schools as possible will take up the new modules and look forward to hosting many more visits to our museum from schools across the country to help contextualise and bring these studies to life.

 

 

Part 1: Emily Miller, Head of Learning and Partnerships, The Migration Museum, introduces the panellists and speakers for Pearson Edexcel GCSE (9-1) History topic Migrants in Britain and Notting Hill. Sharon Hague, Managing Director, Pearson School Qualifications, officially launches the Pearson Edexcel GCSE (9-1) History Migrants in Britain topic.

Part 2: Kwame Boateng, Lead Educator, The Black Curriculum and Martin Spafford, retired school history teacher and Honorary Fellow of the Schools History Project discuss why Pearson Edexcel GCSE (9-1) History Migrants in Britain is an important topic and why it is important now.

Part 3: Aaron Skepple, History Consultant at the Harris Federation and Samantha Slater, Subject Leader of History at Chatham Grammar School and Kwame Boateng, Lead Educator, The Black Curriculum discuss how they anticipate students and teachers will respond to the new Pearson Edexcel GCSE (9-1) History topic – Migrants in Britain.

Part 4: Aaron Skepple, Samantha Slater and Martin Spafford discuss what the challenges will be with a module that covers this wide span of history.

Part 5: Kwame Boateng, Martin Spafford, Samantha Slater and Aaron Skepple discuss what the role of personal stories will play as well as the case studies to drive the narrative.

Part 6: Samantha Slater, Martin Spafford, Aaron Skepple and Kwame Boateng discuss how teachers can benefit from engaging in the latest academic research around this topic and what kinds of other support is available to help them.

Part 7: Kwame Boateng, Martin Spafford, Samantha Slater and Kwame Boateng give their final thoughts about the new topic.