These records remind me of my teenage years, of good memories and bad ones. I got my first record player from a second hand shop when I was fifteen and used to listen to people like Helen Shapiro, the Beatles, Cliff Richard and Connie Francis. The first record I ever bought was ‘Rock around the Clock’. I used to hang around the record shops in Leyton and Stepney and spent a lot of time listening to music in the booths. I like these 45s because they are solid, not like MP3s which have no substance.
The Migration Museum has joined forces with 11 other key organisations in Lewisham to help the borough’s recovery from Covid-19 and improve the lives of local residents.
The 12 anchor institutions have signed a new agreement to work together to boost employment, education, health and the environment across the borough.
The partners in the Civic University Agreement (CUA) are:
Goldsmiths, University of London
The Albany
The Horniman Museum and Gardens
Lewisham College
Lewisham Council
Lewisham Local
Lewisham Homes
Phoenix Community Housing
999 Club
Migration Museum
Trinity Laban
Lewisham and Greenwich NHS Trust
The agreement aims to unlock the partners’ shared potential by co-creating and delivering initiatives for the good of the local area and everyone who lives in Lewisham.
Local people were asked about their priorities and needs in improving the lives of people living, working and studying in Lewisham. Four key themes were identified and will inform the work of the agreement:
Educational opportunities and supporting learning aspiration
Economic prosperity, jobs and growth
Culture, health and well-being
Environmental sustainability
One project which has already started is Inspire Lewisham, a £500,000 programme to help Lewisham residents to develop skills and find employment in the creative industries, which sees Goldsmiths and Lewisham College working in partnership. There are also plans to deliver law and wellbeing “street clinics” which will offer advice and information to local people at drop-in events, with other projects in development.
The CUA was proposed by Goldsmiths as part of the New Cross university’s ambition to make a difference to its home borough and make it easier for local people to access the university’s services and expertise, and developed in collaboration with the 11 partner organisations. It is the first of its kind in London and among the first in the UK.
Professor Frances Corner, Warden of Goldsmiths said: “The challenges facing Lewisham are stark. We have been hit hard by the pandemic, feel the impact of the climate emergency in the air we breathe and have to deal with the consequences of entrenched poverty and inequality every day.
“With the government’s ‘levelling up’ policy clearly focused outside of London these 12 organisations are joining together to take action and make life better in our home borough. We are incredibly fortunate to be surrounded by talented, hard-working and passionate people and this new agreement will provide opportunity for residents and business to grow and thrive.”
Damien Egan, Mayor of Lewisham, said: “The impact of the pandemic continues to be felt right across our borough, and has shone a light on important issues that as a Council we are committed to tackling through our Future Lewisham plans – from the climate crisis to health inequalities and educational and employment opportunities.
“I am proud to see our key local organisations working together to support Lewisham at this crucial time. Independently we are all committed to improving the lives of people in our borough, but together we can achieve so much more, especially in the ongoing financial climate. I’m looking forward to working even more closely with our partners and seeing the real benefits this brings for our residents.”
The CUA was launched at an event held at The Horniman Museum and Gardens attended by the 12 partners on 12 October.
The Migration Museum’s head of creative content, Aditi Anand, and exhibition contributor Allyson Williams MBE speak to Jumoké Fashola on BBC London Radio about Heart of the Nation: Migration and the Making of the NHS.
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.
