Diversity, ethnicity and the Victorians

Editorial note: Alison raises crucial issues about pupils developing a sense of identity in a multi-racial environment through the medium of history. History provides a sense of belonging to all pupils if we acknowledge the rich origins of modern society's multiethnic routes - by origin, we are all immigrants. The downloadable version includes a transcript of the pupilteacher dialogue.

A multi-ethnic society

In 2003 I was a teacher with the Leicestershire Ethnic Minority Achievement Support Service (EMTAS), based in a primary school where thirteen different home languages were spoken and more than half the pupils were of minority ethnic heritage, predominantly Indian or Bangladeshi...