Footballer Troy Deeney’s call for the national curriculum to teach more diverse topics is to be the subject of a new Channel 4 documentary.
The Birmingham City captain started a campaign in February to make the teaching of the history and experiences of black, Asian and ethnic minorities mandatory in schools when he published an open letter to the Government and launched a petition.
In the six weeks that have passed, Deeney’s petition to make the national curriculum more diverse has received more than 50,000 signatures and his efforts quickly attracted the attention of Education Secretary Nadhim Zahawi.
Mr Zahawi immediately replied to Deeney’s open letter on social media and thanked the footballer for raising the issue while revealing his intention to get together for a meeting.
The pair held a meeting last week, which has been captured by Channel 4 for the documentary Troy Deeney – Where’s My History.
SBX Studios, the production company co-founded by former world heavyweight boxing champion Anthony Joshua, have produced the 60-minute documentary, which will be broadcast in May and will show meetings with other high-profile figures like actor David Harewood, current football pundit Micah Richards and other young activist campaigners.
Deeney commissioned his own YouGov survey at the start of the year which found the majority of British teachers think the school system has a racial bias and only 12% said they feel empowered to teach diverse topics.
He said: “I have met some amazing people throughout this journey who have made it their life’s work to make real change in this area. I have been inspired and enlightened, and this is just the start of this journey.”
Channel 4’s commissioning editor Joe Blake-Turner said: “Troy Deeney and SBX Studios have embarked on a project that has the power to transform education in this country and have a really positive long-term impact on society.”
