Book now for new live schools sessions and education resources
Our award-winning education service provides invaluable support for teachers and students with a full range of learning resources and taught sessions covering the span of British history, from the medieval period to present day. We also provide a dedicated learning programme for students with Specialist Educational Needs and Disabilities.
Our approach to education is rooted in a belief that history should be an active investigation of the past. Our highly skilled team specialises in teaching using original sources, drawn from our unique and extensive collection of public records.
Archives Live: Windrush 75
Join Baroness Floella Benjamin for this special live event from The National Archives marking the 75th anniversary of the arrival of Empire Windrush to Tilbury dock.
This event takes place on Monday 19 June at 14:00, will last approximately 40 minutes and is for Key Stage 2 children.
Floella Benjamin is an acclaimed presenter, actress, author, and the first woman from Trinidad to become a member of the House of Lords. Her bestselling book, Coming to England, can be found on the shelves of many classrooms. Floella will explore the uniquely personal document that records her arrival as a ten-year-old in 1960. Learners will get the opportunity to ask Floella questions, hear her stories, and see objects that are special to her.
Children will also learn about the history of Caribbean arrival to Britain through important documents from The National Archives, including the original passenger list for the Empire Windrush ship.
There will also be exclusive learning resources provided in advance of the event to ensure you get the most out of the experience.
Booking now open for autumn sessions
Our popular taught sessions, online and onsite, are now available to book for the autumn term. We have increased the number of onsite session slots. In our workshops at Kew, children will have the opportunity to see and handle original documents and investigate the past in an active way.
We have two sessions available as onsite sessions for the first time. Our Treasures session, designed for KS2 (aimed at years 3 and 4), explores what makes something from the past valuable.
Mangrove Nine (KS3/4) is ideal for students studying Notting Hill as part of the Migration GCSE. Learners get to handle fascinating original documents including police reports, photographs, and newspapers.
Discover our online resources
If a visit to our building is out of the question, our free online resources could be just what you’re looking for. For help in preparing lessons on the arrival of Empire Windrush, explore our wide range of new resources on the subject.
We have launched a new themed collection exploring Commonwealth Migration since 1945. This collection of nearly 50 original documents can be used to support GCSE units: AQA History: Britain: Migration, empires, and the people: c790 to the present day; Edexcel, Migrants in Britain c800-present; OCR, Migrants to Britain c1250 to present (Schools History Project) and for ‘depth studies’ on ‘Modern Britain’ at A Level for AQA and Edexcel.
We are also releasing a Windrush video and lesson resource for Key Stage 2 children.
In the video, pupils take a historical journey from early times to the 1960s. From looking at evidence of a Black presence in Britain from earlier migrations, they go onto explore the story of the Empire Windrush using four key documents from The National Archives. The video considers why people left their homes in the Caribbean to come to Britain. What did they find when they arrived? How were they treated then and in the years that followed? Find out how Caribbean immigration changed life in Britain.
Teachers can explore the topic further using our four complimentary lessons using original documents, with activities to deepen understanding of events and raise questions for discussion about the nature of evidence.
Watch the trailer for the video here.
Keep an eye on our social media to be the first to know when these resources are launched.