Top private schools want to ‘decolonise’ their curriculum by altering history lessons

Top private schools want to ‘decolonise’ their curriculum by altering history lessons after Black Lives Matter protests

  • Private schools to plan ‘new approaches’ on teaching Britain’s colonial history
  • History lessons could be altered in an attempt to ‘decolonise’ school curriculums
  • Tony Blair’s school Fettes said it would use moment as ‘catalyst for real change’

Private schools are planning to alter history lessons in an attempt to ‘decolonise’ their curriculums in the wake of the Black Lives Matter protests.

Top independent schools such as Winchester, Fettes, Ampleforth and St Paul’s Girls are said to be ‘formulating new approaches’ to teaching about Britain’s colonial past. 

‘We have initiated a review into the school’s culture and practices, and it is our intention that this review will conclude next term,’ Winchester College said. 

Tony Blair’s former school of Fettes College in Edinburgh, pictured above, said it would use the moment as ‘a catalyst for real change, and we are working with staff to produce an action plan’

‘A major focus will be our curriculum and our desire to teach beyond the traditional syllabus by applying a global perspective and a broader range of source material,’ it told the Sunday Telegraph.

Tony Blair’s former school of Fettes College in Edinburgh said it would use the moment as ‘a catalyst for real change, and we are working with staff to produce an action plan’. 

Asked about the row last week, Education Secretary Gavin Williamson said children should learn about ‘the good and the bad’ of the country’s past.

He added: ‘It is absolutely vitally important, incredibly important, that when children are learning about our nation’s history, they learn all aspects of it.’

Private schools are planning to alter history lessons in an attempt to ‘decolonise’ their curriculums in the wake of the Black Lives Matter protests. Demonstrators are pictured above in London on Sunday

Private schools are planning to alter history lessons in an attempt to ‘decolonise’ their curriculums in the wake of the Black Lives Matter protests. Demonstrators are pictured above in London on Sunday

The decision to review curricula comes after Oriel College, Oxford, decided to take down its statue to benefactor Cecil Rhodes following a long-running campaign accusing him of white supremacy. 

The developments follow other schools with links to historical figures implicated in the slave trade exploring name changes.

Beckford School in north London, named after former Lord Mayor of London William Beckford, and Branfil Primary School, in east London, which named after a slave-trading squire, were among those seeking to ditch the references.

Queens’ School in Bushey, Hertfordshire, said it was going to rename a house named after Sir Francis Drake and the Blue Coat School in Liverpool would change the name of a house named after a former Mayor Bryan Blundell, the TES reported.

Also in east London, Sir John Cass Red Coat School said it was calling ‘an emergency meeting of the school’s Governing Body…to discuss the legacy of John Cass and consider a proposal to remove his statue and bust located on the school premises and to rename the school’.

Sir John Cass was a philanthropist and merchant who profited from the slave trade.

Asked about the row last week, Education Secretary Gavin Williamson said children should learn about ‘the good and the bad’ of the country’s past

Asked about the row last week, Education Secretary Gavin Williamson said children should learn about ‘the good and the bad’ of the country’s past