What quantity of slaves will £100 buy, asks girls’ grammar

A GRAMMAR school has been criticised for asking pupils to “buy slaves with good breeding potential” during a history class. Rochester Grammar School (RGS) in Kent was accused of trivialising the slave trade after asking Year Eight students to fill in a worksheet that asked them to decide how many slaves to buy for £100.

Students at the selective girls’ school, which was rated “outstanding” by Ofsted, were asked to imagine they were at an auction. The worksheet then described the slaves for sale in 16 lots, and encouraged pupils to examine their characteristics. Descriptions of lots included “five Yoruba boys aged between nine and 11” and “Two Fanti, one male, one female. 18 years old. Straight from Africa. Very strong and nimble”.

Another read: “Two Chamba slaves. One male, one female. At 28, they offer good breeding potential.” In one lot, two Krumen male slaves were described as being “freshly imported from Liberia. Very good condition”.

Students were asked: “Consider what sort of slave your business will need. Examine the characteristics of the slaves. Can you find any that you could use? Focus your bids in the first round on those lots that you really think would be an advantage. Would a combination of different types be more suitable? The key question to ask is ‘What can I buy for my £100’.”

The worksheet came to light after Cheryl Phoenix, a businesswoman, posted a photo of it on Facebook, writing: “I suppose they feel this is appropriate and there should be no offence taken to black students.”

The worksheet attracted criticism from former pupils of the school on social media. Catherine Ellis, a former RGS student who is now a researcher at Durham University, said that her old school was “trivialising slavery”. But the school defended the document, saying it was used to “teach students about the horrors of the slave trade” and to “illustrate the awful reality of slavery”.

A spokesman said: “We categorically condemn slavery and racism of any kind, whether historic or present, and are extremely proud of our multi-cultural school.”

The Department for Education said it is “inappropriate” for schools to engage in any exercise that “appears to condone slavery”.