Migration launch event

In October 2021 we held an in-person launch event and panel discussion for the new Pearson Edexcel GCSE (9-1) History topic Migrants in Britain, c800-present and Notting Hill, c1948-c1970 at the Migration Museum in Lewisham, South East London.

It was wonderful to welcome guests to an event for the first time since early 2020 and to feel the enthusiasm of teachers who have started to teach it or will be teaching it from next year.

Watch the videos below to view the panel discussion covering topics such as why migration is an important area of study; what benefits Migrants in Britain brings for History teachers and students; and how teachers can prepare themselves to teach this topic and more.

About the speakers and panelists

Kwame Boateng, Lead Educator, The Black Curriculum

Kwame is a passionate researcher and educator using de-colonial approaches to education and community development. His specialities include race, identity and their respective intersections with education and transformative pedagogy.

As an educator and consultant for The Black Curriculum, Kwame believes that by embedding Black British history in schools nationally, future generations will gain a holistic understanding of British identity rooted in respect, reciprocity and empowerment for all.

Sharon Hague, Managing Director, Pearson School Qualifications

Sharon is Managing Director of Pearson School Qualifications where she has worked for over 21 years. She is responsible for the development and delivery of qualifications and assessments together with providing primary and secondary with high quality teaching and learning resources in the UK and International markets.

She has extensive experience of working closely with governments, schools and other partners to provide services that help children and young people make progress in their lives. Sharon is an advocate for inclusivity both in the workplace and within education.

Sharon graduated from Oxford and trained as a qualified teacher and taught in schools in Essex and Hertfordshire for 8 years. She is a speaker for the charity, Speaker for Schools, and is a governor at a secondary and primary school.

Emily Miller, Head of Learning and Partnerships, The Migration Museum

Emily is head of learning and partnerships at the Migration Museum. She joined at the start of the project and has grown the education programme from scratch, now reaching over 13,000 students in schools and universities, training hundreds of teachers and establishing many relationships across the education, museums and culture sectors.

After her social anthropology degree Emily trained as a Citizenship teacher with the charity Teach First and taught in Manchester. After this coordinated an international education programme encouraging secondary school pupils into philanthropy and social action.

After a summer bringing teenagers from conflict regions together with Seeds of Peace summer camps in the USA – she returned to the UK for an MA in Conflict Resolution at Bradford University. It was during research for her MA that she came across the Migration Museum and soon after joined the project.

Aaron Skepple, History Consultant, Harris Federation

Aaron is an experienced history teacher and school leader. He advises heads of department and senior leaders on history teaching and curriculum design across the Federation and contributes to the Schools Direct Programme. He specialises in Imperial and Intellectual History.

Aaron has a PGCE, an MA in Global history and International Politics and is currently completing an MSc in Learning and Teaching from Oxford University.

Samantha Slater, Subject Leader of History, Chatham Grammar School

Samantha has been teaching History since 2003 in several schools across Kent. She is now Subject Leader of History at Chatham Grammar. Chatham Grammar (CG) is a selective 11–19 girls academy (with a mixed sixth form) whose Lead Sponsor is the University of Kent.

History is a very popular subject at GCSE, with approximately 80% of a cohort opting to continue from KS3. Samantha has focused on developing the History curriculum over the past 3 years to ensure it is more diverse, inclusive, and representative. Over the past 12 months, Samantha has been working alongside Dr Robin Whitburn and Abdul Mohamud on the Hodder textbook for the Migrants in Britain c.800 to present for Edexcel.

Martin Spafford, retired school history teacher and Honorary Fellow of the Schools History Project and the Historical Association

Martin is a retired school history teacher and helped design, develop and write textbooks and resources for the OCR GCSE units on migration.

He was on the advisory board for the current Migration Museum ‘Departures’ exhibition and for the ‘Our Migration Story’ website created by the Runnymede Trust, with whom he is currently collaborating on webinars for the NEU covering histories of race, migration and empire. He is an Honorary Fellow of the Schools History Project and the Historical Association.

He is currently an active volunteer with the human rights education charity Journey to Justice. “Migration is the history of all of us. The story of ordinary people moving into and out of these islands in search of work, safety, family, adventure or opportunity has shaped every key moment in our history. Not only is it essential for students to understand the British story, but it helps them to see their own place in it.”