About the resources in the Black Britain Pack (9-11)
Introduction
Produced primarily for October’s Black History Month, our resource pack includes information on the history of black people in Britain, from Roman times through to today. In addition to the factual information in the books and profiles, our creative writing tasks will help pupils gain a deeper insight and aim to inspire discussion and reflection.
We have deliberately started the story of Britain’s population in pre-history, as it’s important for pupils to understand that black presence did not begin with the slave trade.
Profiles of historical figures
We have chosen 12 black or Asian people, both male and female, spanning the centuries, to represent key aspects or milestones in the history of Black Britain. They are not necessarily the most obvious - or the most famous - figures you can find but hopefully they will help your pupils gain a broad perspective on black history. (Please note: we have avoided sports personalities and pop stars!)
Information texts
Black Britain - Comprehension Books (IWB x 2)
Introduce the history of multi-racial Britain using these differentiated information books. Reading
Level C is written at a higher level, with more text and more complex sentences, than Reading Level
B. Both books include a short comprehension quiz.
Black Britain – Text, Images and Quiz (Word docs x 2)
These contain text and images from the Comprehension Books (above), together with an extended comprehension quiz, in a document format.
Black Britain – Non-Fiction Writing Frame (Word doc)
This document contains all of the images from the Comprehension Books (above) in a simple table format, with space for pupils to type or write in their own words. Either ask pupils to re-tell the story of
Black Britain or perhaps write their own version after carrying out further research. There is an extra box at the end for pupils to reflect on their experience within their own communities, if desired.
The Slave Trade (Word doc)
This text gives pupils a summary of the slave trade, including the Atlantic Trade Triangle, the test case of James Somersett and the eventual abolition of slavery in Britain.

About the resources in the Black Britain Pack (9-11)
Significant figures in black British history
For each profile there are comprehensive/discussion questions, plus a suggested creative writing task.
Barates and Regina (Word doc)
Based on the historical source of the tomb of Regina, this sheet details Britain’s first known interracial marriage. Barates, a wealthy flag-trader of Syrian origins, came over to Britain as a Roman citizen, fell in love and freed and married a slave girl from the defeated Catuvellauni tribe.
Creative writing task: Write a letter from Barates to his parents explaining his marriage choice.
Septimius Severus – Profile (Word doc)
Pupils find out about the first Emperor from a dynasty of North African rulers of the Roman Empire.
Severus ruled the whole Empire from his base in York for 3 years, whilst overseeing the strengthening of Hadrian’s Wall and planning renewed attacks on the Picts. He died in Britain in 211
AD.
Creative writing task: Write a letter from a North African soldier to his family, describing his new life in Britain.
Ivory Bangle Lady – Profile (Word doc)
The remains of a high-class lady of North African origin were found in York. Her grave goods show her to be well-travelled, wealthy and highly-regarded. This lady challenges the view that the only black people in Britain at this time were both male and poor!
Creative writing task: Write a diary entry about your new home in York.
Tudor Court – Profile (Word doc)
We focus on two, high status, black courtiers in Tudor times:
Catalina de Cardones was a Moorish lady-in-waiting to Catherine of Aragon, brought to England as part of a large entourage from Spain.
John Blanke was a musician in the court of Henry VII and Henry VIII, and immortalised on the
Westminster Tournament Roll.
Creative writing task: Write a town crier’s speech announcing Princess Catherine’s arrival in
England.
James Somersett
– Profile
(Word doc)
The case of escaped slave, James Somersett, became a landmark legal trial in the abolitionists’ cause, in 1771. Judge Lord Mansfield ruled that since slavery was not legally enshrined in English law (and moreover was ‘odious’), then the law could not support a slave-owner’s actions in punishing a slave by sending him to the West Indies. Somersett was released and many took this ruling to mean the end of slavery. It wasn’t. It took until 1807 for the trade in slaves to be outlawed in Britain; slavery itself was not made illegal until 1833.
Creative writing task: Write a persuasive letter to Justice Mansfield, arguing the case for freeing
Somersett.

About the resources in the Black Britain Pack (9-11)
Dido Elizabeth Belle – Profile (Word doc)
Dido was born in 1761, the mixed race, illegitimate daughter of an English Naval Captain. Adopted by aristocratic relations, she grew up within this wealthy and privileged family, was well-educated and part of the cream of English society. Although, on the surface, treated equally and given the same privileges as her white ‘cousin’, she didn’t always dine with the family when they had visitors...
Creative writing task: Write a diary entry for Dido on the occasion of an American guest coming to dinner.
Olaudah Equiano – Profile (Word doc)
Equiano ’s autobiography was published to rave reviews in 1789. It was the first book written by an
African, telling first-hand of the horrors of slavery. He was enslaved as a child, lived in America, was educated in England and bought his freedom whilst working for a prominent Quaker. He supported an influential group of abolitionists in England and travelled throughout Great Britain campaigning for the end of slavery and also for better living conditions for people in Africa.
Creative writing task: Write a persuasive newspaper article on the Zong Massacre, calling for the abolition of slavery.
Mary Seacole – Profile (Word doc)
Mary set up a ‘British hotel’ to support wounded soldiers during the Crimean War. Whereas Florence
Nightingale was given support for her hospital from the British Government, Seacole was refused help and funded the venture herself, often offering her nursing services for free.
Creative writing task: Write a newspaper article reporting the Guards’ Dinner attended by Mary
Seacole.
Walter Tull and George Bemand
– Profiles
(Word doc)
During World War I, these two black army officers showed enormous courage and leadership, breaking the racial bar in their profession . Their origins couldn’t have been more different though:
Tull had grown up in an orphanage and was pursuing a promising footballing career before the war;
Bemand was part of the English educational elite, studying engineering at University College,
London. Both men died in action.
Map work task: Research black and Asian regiments from both world wars and plot their areas of origin on a world map (two differentiated tasks).
Nola Ishmael – Profile (Word doc)
Nola was part of the ‘Windrush generation’ of Commonwealth recruits, emigrating from Jamaica to train as a nurse in England. She eventually rose in her career to become the first black Director of
Nursing and was awarded the OBE in 2000.
Creative writing task: Write a poster to persuade Jamaican workers to come to 1950s Britain to help the country’s workforce.
Michael Fuller – Profile (Word doc)
Fuller became the first ethnic minority Chief Constable of Police when he took on the role for the
Kent force in 2004. In 2010, he became Chief Inspector of the Crown Prosecution Service. In his distinguished police career, he has advised on counter-terrorism and notably tackled the problem of gun crime in black communities.
Creative writing task: Write a biography of a black professional.

About the resources in the Black Britain Pack (9-11)
Maggie Aderin-Pocock – Profile (Word doc)
Often cited as a STEM role model, Aderin-Pocock is a space scientist who has worked in various fields: image processing, missile warning systems and scientific instrumentation. She presents the
‘Sky at Night’ TV programme and was awarded the MBE for services to education and science in
2009.
Creative writing task: Write a biography of a black scientist or writer.
Generic TES iboard resources to support pupil planning and review
Note Refiner (IWB)
This generic tool allows you to take notes and edit them, before modelling how to construct sentences from notes. Use this tool to plan out an explanation or information text , or to make notes on a subject - adding notes on the post-its, ordering them and then refining into sentences on the last screen.
My Thoughts and Opinions! (IWB)
This tool is for noting thoughts, opinions, comment, knowledge or facts. The text frames automatically shrink the font as you type, so the resource is suitable for simple statements or longer explanations. Text frames can be presented as captions, speech bubbles or thought bubbles
.