Exam board chief said migration is a 'defining feature of our history'

OCR module will be about history of migrants dating to Roman times

Teenagers will be able to study 2,000 years of immigration to Britain as part of plans for a new history GCSE.

Those studying the module will learn about the reasons for immigration, the experience of migrants and their impact on the country.

The OCR exam board, which has drawn up the proposals, said pupils would discover parallels to the modern day.

Melting pot: GCSE students will learn about how London has been a destination for migrants for hundreds of years. Pictured, a 17th Century image of arrivals on the River Thames by the Tower of London

They may be ‘surprised to learn’ that the black population of London potentially numbered up to 15,000 in the 1750s, and that at least ten languages were used across medieval England.

Pupils will study the history of immigration to Britain from Roman times to the modern day, including arrivals from Syria and eastern Europe.

They will be expected to demonstrate that they understand the reasons people migrated to Britain, the experience of migrants in Britain and their impact on Britain.

OCR said a ‘migration into Britain’ module would be an optional part of a new GCSE history course being introduced in 2016.

It aims to reinvigorate interest in GCSE history amid claims from historians that growing numbers of teenagers are not being taught the subject beyond the age of 14.

The GCSE is being reformed in line with changes brought in by the Coalition, which aim to make exams more rigorous.

New courses will be submitted to the Government next year and then taught from 2016 subject to approval from Ofqual, the exams watchdog.

Mike Goddard, OCR’s head of history, said: ‘Migration is an ideal history topic for GCSE students to study, allowing them to consider fundamental historical concepts such as continuity, change and significance, rooted in the major events of England’s history.

Mike Goddard, OCR’s head of history, said the module would require pupils to explore and understand ‘the constant shifts in the British population’ - including the arrivals of invaders such as the Romans and Vikings

‘Doing this through the lens of the movement of diverse groups of people has the added benefit of contemporary relevance and will make for a rigorous, stimulating and enjoyable course.’

He said it would require pupils to explore and understand ‘the constant shifts in the British population’.

They would study invaders such as the Romans and the Vikings, the effects of the British Empire and immigration arising from attempts to flee persecution including the Huguenots, Jews and, more recently, the Syrians.

The GCSE is being reformed in line with changes to qualifications ordered by the Coalition, which is attempting to increase rigour and depth of knowledge.

OCR is currently developing two new GCSEs in response to the reforms. One will focus on the ‘modern world’ and the second will put more emphasis on a range of historical periods.

The proposed new GCSEs will be submitted to the government next year and will be taught from 2016, subject to approval from Ofqual, the exams watchdog.

Mr Goddard said: ‘Migration has been a constant and, in many important ways, a defining feature of our history.