A history education charity, Parallel Histories, has launched a free resource for secondary schools encouraging pupils to debate the British Empire from opposing viewpoints, arguing it was either a "force for progress" or a "system of exploitation and oppression." The initiative aims to give teachers more confidence in handling contested historical topics, amid concerns that some schools either teach such subjects in a partisan way or avoid them altogether. Organisers say the approach helps pupils understand why people disagree about history, politics and identity, rather than pushing them towards a single fixed conclusion.

The resource, called "On British Empire," provides source-based material drawn from a range of perspectives, including British politicians who framed imperial expansion as a moral duty, Indian nationalists describing colonial economic harm, and Caribbean voices addressing slavery and identity. Pupils are split into teams to argue one side before switching to argue the other, then encouraged to form their own view. Parallel Histories, co-founded in 2017 by the late teacher Michael Davies, works with over 3,000 schools and has produced similar dual-narrative resources on topics such as the Israel-Palestine conflict and Margaret Thatcher. Chief executive Bill Rammell said the aim is to trust students to weigh contradictions themselves rather than being swayed by "algorithm-driven outrage."