The Polish Cultural Institute in London has produced a special online pack about connections between the United Kingdom and Poland. The document entitled Polish British Connections: BEYOND BORDERS aims at helping teachers to teach about Poland and the mutual relations between the two countries. 

The online pack contains a short sequence of lessons about Polish migration to the UK from 1832 up to the present time. It covers among others the similarities and differences between Polish people’s experience of moving to the UK and living there. 

The document also covers the different ways in which Poles have influenced British society as well as British culture in areas such as politics, sport, arts and so on. 

“There are about 800,000 Polish people living in Britain today and many more British people have Polish heritage,” says Konrad Zieliński, from the team of the Polish Cultural Institute in London. 

“It is important that Polish children feel that they belong in the school community and that other children learn more about the many people who call Britain ‘home’,” he explains.  

The dynamic fashion of the presentation (colours, maps, images,…), as well as its synthetic form, makes it a must-have for any teacher willing to have an overview of nearly two centuries of common history. 

The document is divided into three thematic assemblies, each of which focuses on a specific aspect of the history of Poles who migrated to the UK. It is followed by eight SMSC activities that encourage taking inspired action in this journey of intercultural discovery. 

Author: Sébastien Meuwissen

Cover photo: Polish Cultural Institute in London