Coming to England

Date: 24th Jan 2024 @ 1:59pm

Class 2 have been thoroughly enjoying their key text this term: Coming to England by Dame Floella Benjamin. 

If you are of my generation (!), the name Floella probably brings back memories of Playschool on TV and the toys, but her story of coming to the UK is a fascinating one.  The children are learning about what life was like in Trinidad for the young Floella and how her family made the massive journey to England.  England was a land of promise, of riches and 'hope and glory' and the book tells of the excitement the family felt as they set out for a new life.  However, it also deals with the inherent racism of Britain in the early 60s.  I have to say this is something that the children were apalled by.  They discussed their feelings with real sensitivity and respect. 

As we have been learning about the Caribbean, Noah brought in some suovenirs from his holiday and Maya was able to show us some money from Jamaica.  The children have been doing some lovely writing based on the text and we have enjoyed the film version which you can watch here:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b0bdl9bp/coming-to-england

It has been amazing to see how the children have responded to the text and loved learning about the journey Floella and her family came on all those years ago.