Ignorance Of History Of UK Nations A Risk To Union Olusoga

Schools in the UK need to teach the history of all four nations, the historian David Olusoga has said, warning that ambivalence and disinterest risk pulling apart the union.

- Rachel Hall

The fact that A-level pupils in England do not learn much about the history of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland and vice versa means that they struggle to understand key contemporary political issues in the other nations, for example the Scottish independence movement or sectarianism in Northern Ireland, Olusoga said.

"I just don't think ignorance is ever really a positive background factor in nations being drawn together," he said. "Not knowing each others' stories is a weakness we are one day going to have to address." Speaking to the Guardian ahead of the launch of his new documentary exploring the past, present and future of the union, Olusoga said: "We underestimate the complexity and potential fragility of the UK, especially in England.

"When you talk about the union in Scotland, everyone knows what you mean. When you use the word union in England you realise it's not a phrase you hear very often. I think we are in England less familiar with the architecture of the country and the history that explains it. That's why I really advocate better teaching of this."