FAQs Who was Martin Gilbert?Who was Martin Gilbert? Why was the Centre founded?The Sir Martin Gilbert Learning Centre was founded by Sir Harry Solomon and Lady Esther Gilbert in memory of the renowned historian Sir Martin Gilbert . Sir Martin aimed to make history engaging and accessible for all, a principle that underpins the Centre’s work. Who are our workshops for?Our workshops are aimed at secondary school students across the UK and cover topics in History, Religious Studies, and other subjects. The Centre’s workshops are also suitable for PGCE cohorts in the above subjects and related fields. How can I book?It is easy to directly book on our website. You can select which workshop you would like, along with the date and time that suits you best. We will be in touch to confirm your booking. If you experience any difficulties or would like to discuss a workshop or booking further, please email bethany@sirmartingilbertlearningcentre.org How many students can you accommodate per session?For in-person sessions we can deliver to groups of varying sizes, from small classes to entire year groups of up to 250 students. If your year group is larger than this, please get in touch and we will be happy to discuss your needs.We recommend single class groups for online sessions, ideally no more than 35 students per session. We know that often you have multiple classes in each year group, and we are happy to book in multiple sessions to accommodate all groups. We can do this to suit your timetable. How long are the workshops?Our sessions can be tailored to your individual timetable needs, but usually our workshops last 50-60 minutes. How much do they cost?We are committed to offering our workshops for free. We are a charity, however, and so if your school has a budget for events such as ours, we warmly welcome donations to help secure our work for the future. Donations can be made on our website:https://sirmartingilbertlearningcentre.org/donate/ Are sessions in person or online?Both! If you would like us to visit in person, please enquire. We can also deliver all our workshops online, and we regularly visit classrooms across Great Britain. We mainly use Zoom, but can also offer Teams or other formats, as preferred by your school. What topics do you cover?Our current workshops cover:1. Jewish Migration to Britain: 1066-present2. British responses to Jewish refugees in the 1930s3. Jews and the British Suffrage MovementEach workshop is a self-contained, standalone session. We welcome bookings for multiple topics across the year, to tie in with your teaching. We are always working to expand our offerings. If there is an area of Jewish history you would like to include in your teaching, please get in touch at bethany@sirmartingilbertlearningcentre.org Are the workshops interactive?Our workshops are all interactive. Students complete polls, vote, and are encouraged to share their knowledge throughout. For individual class groups there is also the option to do group work with primary sources. We provide all supporting materials, making the workshop as easy as possible for teachers. All workshops have accompanying resources to support students, such as timelines, glossaries and knowledge organisers. What do I need to do to prepare for your workshop?Very little! We will be in touch to discuss your individual needs and to provide the handouts. Simply print these out ahead of the session and you’ll be ready to go. We do all the heavy lifting for you, offering you a really easy and simple way to diversify your curriculum and enrich your students’ understanding of key topics. What do I need to do after the workshop?Students complete a poll at the start and end of the session. We ask you to collect and return these polls to us, so we can add the (anonymous) results to our database. Ahead of your workshop we send stamped, addressed envelopes for you to return student polls to us, and we will send you the breakdown of your students’ responses after the workshop, so you can see what they have gained from the session. We also ask all teachers to complete a 2-minute teacher questionnaire online after the workshops, so that we can continue to take on board your feedback. How do your sessions link to the National Curriculum?You can see how each individual workshop is linked to the NC below. Our guiding principle is to provide rigorous but accessible academic research and encourage key historical skills through engagement with primary sources. In this way, we help students: • ‘develop and extend their knowledge and understanding of specified key events,periods and societies in local, British, and wider world history; and of the widediversity of human experience’• ‘engage in historical enquiry to develop as independent learners and as critical and reflective thinkers’• ‘develop the ability to ask relevant questions about the past, to investigate issuescritically and to make valid historical claims by using a range of sources in theirhistorical context’• ‘develop an awareness of why people, events and developments have beenaccorded historical significance and how and why different interpretations havebeen constructed about them’• ‘organise and communicate their historical knowledge and understanding indifferent ways and reach substantiated conclusions’https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5a7ef7ad40f0b6230268ca9a/history_GCSE_formatted.pdf British responses to Jewish refugees in the 1930sNational Curriculum: ‘Challenges for Britain, Europe and the wider world 1901 to the present day’. Holocaust, migration.Teachers often find this workshop helpful for teaching on the Holocaust, to tie in with Holocaust Memorial Day (January) and for Refugee Week (June). Jews and the British Suffrage Movement:National Curriculum: ‘Challenges for Britain, Europe and the wider world 1901 to the present day’. Women’s suffrage.This is a popular option for Women’s History Month (March). Jewish migration to Britain 1066-2025:National Curriculum: ‘The study of an aspect or theme in British history that consolidates and extends pupils’ chronological knowledge from before 1066’. The impact through time of the migration of people to, from and within the British Isles. Perfect as an overview or revision session for the GCSE papers on migration to Britain. (For further information, see below). What exam boards do your sessions work for?We have tailored the Jewish migration to Britain 1066-2025 workshop so that it is closely linked to the following exam specifications:o OCR History A (Explaining the Modern World: Migration to Britain)o OCR History B (SHP: Migrants to Britain, c. 1250 to present)o Pearson Edexcel History (Migrants to Britain, c800- present)o AQA History (Paper 2, Section AC Britain: Migration, empires and the people, c790 to the present day) Do your sessions tackle controversial topics?We are not a political organisation and we do not talk about Israel and Palestine. By presenting Jews as part and parcel of British history and culture, we aim to counter misperceptions and misinformation that can lead to prejudice and antisemitism.