Children should be taught ‘the good and bad about history’, the said today, as he insisted we should be ‘very proud’ of Britain’s past.
Gavin Williamson has indicated he would be ‘incredibly interested’ in making sure the country’s history curriculum is ‘reflective’ of Britain’s diverse population.
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 at the time, Mr 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.’
The decision to review curricula came after Oriel College, Oxford, decided to take down its statue to benefactor Cecil Rhodes following a long-running campaign accusing him of white supremacy.
Private schools revealed plans to alter history lessons in an attempt to ‘decolonise’ their curriculums in the wake of the Black Lives Matter protests earlier this year. Pictured: Protests in London
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’
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.
Meanwhile, it was revealed today that more than a quarter of students ‘self-censor’ because they fear their views will clash with the ‘woke’ values promoted by their university.
In the latest evidence of the free speech crisis engulfing campuses across the country, 27 per cent of students said they have actively ‘hidden’ their opinions when they are at odds with those of their peers and tutors.
More than half of those who ‘self-censored’ did so because of their political views.A further 40 per cent withheld their opinions on ethical or religious matters for fear of being judged.
In a chilling indication that those with ‘unfashionable’ views fear speaking out will have long-term consequences, almost 40 per cent of those polled said they believed their career would be adversely affected if they expressed their true opinions at university.
Free speech campaigners last night likened some campuses to ‘Maoist re-education camps’ dominated by ‘woke orthodoxy’ where only the most liberal and Left-wing views are tolerated.
Matthew Goodwin, Professor of Politics at the University of Kent, said: ‘We need to keep our world-leading universities as free as possible and we need students and the people teaching them to feel that they can debate, discuss and exchange ideas and perspectives from different angles.
It was revealed today that more than a quarter of students ‘self-censor’ because they fear their views will clash with the ‘woke’ values promoted by their university
More than half of those who ‘self-censored’ did so because of their political views.A further 40 per cent withheld their opinions on ethical or religious matters for fear of being judged
‘If we lose that, we’re going to lose what it is that makes our universities great in the first place. Freedom of speech is a fundamental aspect of our national identity.’
The survey – conducted by Survation on behalf of ADF International, a faith-based legal advocacy organisation – found that more than a third (36 per cent) of students hold views that are legal to express but that would be considered ‘unacceptable’ by their student union.
Ryan Christopher, Director of ADF International UK, said: ‘Of all places, university is where students should be free to debate and explore ideas – especially those with which they disagree.
‘Institutional policies and practices can suggest that even mainstream views are beyond the pale.
‘Today’s censorship on campus can easily become cancel culture in the public square.’
The poll, which received responses from 1,028 current university students and recent graduates across the country, discovered that 44 per cent believed lecturers would treat them differently if they publicly expressed views important to them.
Two-fifths of those questioned said so-called ‘no platforming’ – where events are cancelled due to the views held by speakers – had become more frequent at their university.
The celebrated poet Ted Hughes has been added to a dossier linking him to slavery and colonialism by the British Library.
The former Poet Laureate, who came from humble origins in Yorkshire, was found to be a descendant of Nicholas Ferrar who was involved in the slave trade some 300 years before Hughes was born.
Ferrar, born in 1592, and his family, were ‘deeply involved’ with the Virginia Company, which sought to establish colonies in North America.
The celebrated poet Ted Hughes has been added to a dossier linking him to slavery and colonialism by the British Library
The research is being conducted to find evidence of ‘connections to slavery, profits from slavery or from colonialism’
The research is being conducted to find evidence of ‘connections to slavery, profits from slavery or from colonialism’, reported.
Hughes was born in 1930 in the village of Mytholmroyd in West Yorkshire where his father worked as a joiner before running a newsagent’s and a tobacconist’s.
He attended Cambridge University on a scholarship where he met his future wife Sylvia Plath.
Along with Hughes, who died in 1998, the British Library has identified Lord Byron, Oscar Wilde and George Orwell as benefits of slavery through distant relatives.
Lord Byron, who died in 1824, has been identified as a beneficiary of slavery because of his great-grandfather’s and uncle’s involvement in the trade
Oscar Wilde was included because of his uncle’s interest in the slave trade, even though the research noted there was no evidence the acclaimed Irish writer inherited any of the money
It is part of the institution’s plans to become ‘actively anti-racist’ by providing context to the remembrance of historical figures.
It comes in the wake of this year’s Black Lives Matter movement which led to a reassessment of a number of people and institutions from our past.
But the tenuous link between Hughes and Ferrar, who he is related to through his mother’s side, has prompted ire among experts of the great writer.
His biographer Sir Jonathan Bate said: ‘It’s ridiculous to tar Hughes with a slave trade connection. And it’s not a helpful way to think about writers.
‘Why on earth would you judge the quality of an artist’s work on the basis of distant ancestors?’
He added that Ferrar was better known as a priest and a scholar who founded the religious community Little Gidding.
George Orwell, who was born Eric Blair in India, had a great-grandfather who was a wealthy slave owner in Jamaica
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