Pupils taught that St Hadrian was ‘black’

SCHOOLCHILDREN have been taught that Saint Hadrian was “black” despite there being no evidence for the claim.

The Dark Ages abbot Saint Hadrian of Canterbury has been referred to as a “black scholar” in primary school teaching material, despite the holy man being of north African Berber origin and not black.

The seventh-century abbot has been included in many overviews of black British history, including those provided by charities and local councils.

One black British history presentation, devised for KS2 pupils and seen by The Daily Telegraph, states that in 670 “a black scholar becomes abbot of an abbey in Canterbury”.

The material adds: “Abbot Hadrian, who was an African-born scholar and noted teacher, became abbot of the monastery of St Peter and St Paul.” Hadrian, who was offered the chance to become Archbishop of Canterbury by the Pope after moving to Britain, was believed to have been born in Cyrenaica in what is now modern-day Libya, making him possibly of Berber descent.

The claim that he was a “black scholar” appears in a black British history presentation distributed by Twinkl, a company that produces educational material for teachers by teachers, and the Telegraph understands it has been used in schools. Another Twinkl resource used in schools, a timeline for KS2 pupils covering the “Black History of Britain”, includes Hadrian as its second entry. Hadrian has been included in a “Black British History” teaching resource for secondary school provided by HFL Education, a support service part-owned by Hertfordshire council, and a timeline created by the Surrey borough council of Spelthorne.

Hadrian also features in an online teaching resource provided by English Heritage titled “Black Lives in Britain”.

Historian Dr Zareer Masani said it was “absurd that wokedom is reaching across millennia to claim people of colour”. Dr Alka Sehgal-Cuthbert, of the race relations group Don’t Divide Us, said: “The compulsive search for ‘lost’ Black Britons distorts the truth value of the claim being made.” Twinkl has been asked for comment.

Saint Hadrian of Canterbury was a Berber of north African heritage rather than being black