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7 October, 2021

Pearson Edexcel launches Migrants in Britain GCSE History option at the Migration Museum

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.
 
Find out more about the Migration Museum’s education programme and how to organise a visit
Find out more about Person Edexcel’s new Migration topic
 
Watch video highlights from the launch
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.

25 August, 2021

Migration Museum launches Departures: Understanding Emigration education resource pack

The Migration Museum is pleased to share with you our Departures: Understanding Emigration education resource pack. 

This free, in-depth resource pack shines a spotlight on 400 years of British emigration – one of the largest movements of people in modern history, yet a history that is often overlooked.  

Who are the many millions who have departed these shores and why did they go? Can exploring their motivations help us better understand the motivations of people who arrive? What impact has this mass movement had on the world – and on Britain? Our resource pack features stories spanning four centuries – from Mayflower Pilgrims to Welsh emigrants to South America, Child migration schemes to the Windrush scandal.

This resource pack will be helpful to any student studying the impact of emigration from Britain; both on the countries people emigrated to, and on Britain itself. However, the resource pack is designed specifically for Key Stage 4 students studying GCSE History: AQA’s ‘Migration, Empires and the Peoples’ unit. The pack has been designed by David Cox and the Migration Museum, with input from AQA teachers and the board’s History subject advisor.

The Departures: Understanding Emigration resource pack accompanies the Migration Museum’s Departures exhibition, but is designed to be used as a stand-alone resource, or in conjunction with a self-guided or facilitated learning visit to the exhibition. To find out more about organising a visit to Departures for your students, please contact our education manager Liberty Melly: liberty@migrationmuseum.org.

Click here to download and view the resource pack

Teachers are also finding our Departures podcast really helpful for subject knowledge. Each episode explores emigration themes with input from academics, family historians, people with personal connections to the historical moments being explored and more. You can browse and listen to all episodes here or by searching for ‘Departures: 400 Years of Emigration from Britain’ wherever you get your podcasts.

1 December, 2020

Exhibitions and shop closed due to Coronavirus restrictions

Our exhibitions and shop are currently closed to visitors due to Coronavirus restrictions. We look forward to welcoming you back safely as soon as we can in 2021. 

While our exhibitions and museum are closed, there are still plenty of ways you can engage with us via our digital exhibition Heart of the Nation: Migration and the Making of the NHS, our website and on social media.

We will continue to monitor government and public health restrictions and guidance closely and will update you on our reopening plans as soon as possible.

We look forward to welcoming you back safely as soon as we can. In the meantime, let’s all continue to stay safe and look after each other during these difficult times.