Primary school children learn about Lancaster’s links with transatlantic slave trade

Over six months, Eleanor Levin, heritage professional for Facing the Past, will lead parties of Key Stage 2 children with their teachers on tours around key locations associated with slavery, from St George’s Quay to Castle Park and Lancaster Priory before returning to the Millennium Bridge and Lancaster Maritime Museum.

At the Maritime Museum, they see first hand the luxury goods, like sugar and mahogany, that were traded for slaves and contributed massively to the economy.

Head teacher John Ross of Great Wood School helped to develop this part of the Facing the Past programme.

Some 15 local teachers helped to put together the tour, and all 53 schools in the Lancaster and Morecambe District Schools Cluster have committed to being part of the project.

The tour encourages the children to learn through interaction and asking questions.

Maria Manton, from Morecambe Bay Community Primary School, said: "I absolutely loved being part of the project. I’m passionate about local history and the tour connects you so much more to the place that you live.

"You look at it with new eyes and it allows you to reflect but not judge. Making visual links with the buildings, the memorials, the names and the pictorial elements bridges the gap between the past and the present.

"I heard one of the children on the way round saying 'It’s the best history trip I’ve ever been on'."

All Lancaster primary schools aim to include the tour in their curriculum and lead this themselves in the next academic year.

The tour gives teachers a way of speaking about slavery, the slave trade, about racism and what is wrong with our world today.

“The teachers felt it was very important for children to know about Lancaster’s links to the transatlantic slave trade," Eleanor added.

"Our aim was to create a tour that was accurate, interesting, engaging and educational.

"It has been a privilege to lead this tour and see how the Year 6 children engage with Lancaster's history in the transatlantic slave trade with real empathy, intelligence and understanding,"

The tour follows on from previous work by primary school teacher and co-founder of Lancaster Black History Group Geraldine Onek, who created ‘Lancaster’s Slavery Business – the Transatlantic slave and West Indies Trades’ - an education unit for schools.

It draws on the writings and advice of academics Prof Alan Rice and Dr Melinda Elder, eminent researchers of the transatlantic slave trade in Lancaster.