Government told to accept ‘warts and all’ school lessons about empire

The schools minister says it curtails freedom for teachers to choose their lessons. By Rob Merrick

64 per cent of secondary schools say curriculum lacks diverse role models (PA)

Pupils must have “warts and all” lessons about the British empire and its role in the slave trade, the government is being told – after it refused to make teaching of the subjects compulsory.

The schools minister sparked controversy earlier this year when he suggested such lessons would “pile on” too many topics and risked lowering “standards” in English schools.

Now MPs will debate a petition, signed by more than 268,000 people, demanding “a far more inclusive curriculum” – rather than leaving it up to head teachers to decide whether the legacy of “colonisation” is taught.