New Schools Hub to give free access to
School children learning to sword fight at the Chalke History Festival Photo: Martin Cook
history like never before.
The Chalke History Festival, supported by lead partner Evelyn Partners, has launched a ground-breaking new Schools Hub, receiving a generous donation of £100,000 from the KM Foundation.
The Chalke Schools History Hub will work in partnership with leading historians to provide a high-quality online history platform which is easily accessible to schools both in the UK and internationally. With free videos, presentations, comprehensive lesson plans and more, it is the ultimate online companion for teaching and learning history.
The Hub has been designed to complement teachings in the classroom, providing a Netflix / YouTube style interface for teachers, parents, students and other interested parties, allowing them to access valuable information about the UK and the world’s most prominent eras in history.
The hub is designed to meet curriculum requirements from Key Stages 2-5 in the UK and the International Baccalaureate system for overseas students with teachers enhancing their lessons with unique content delivered by experts in their field. Students can watch videos, listen to audio talks, and access revision notes and bonus material, all the while deepening their understanding of key historical topics.
There are no subscriptions, no fees, just valuable teaching materials to engage students interested in learning more.
Students can enhance their knowledge about The East India Company and The Mughal Empire with William Dalrymple. Videos will be supported by teachers’ notes to assist learning in the classroom.
Already on the Hub are short, inspirational films and presentations about the Iron Age, The Tudors, the Weimar Republic, the Medieval period, Empire and the Cold War, among others, but with funding partners such as the KM Foundation, organisers aim to add new material on a regular basis.
The Hub has been set up to complement the Chalke History Festival – a must-attend seven-day annual event in June in the heart of the beautiful Wessex countryside – which features talks by world-renowned historians, and performances from the very best living history experts in the land, alongside traditional crafts, camping, and local food and drink. The festival brings together passionate thought-leaders and the most informed living historians around, happy to share their extraordinary and unique knowledge with curious visitors and students eager to learn more.
As part of the History Festival is a two-day festival for schools, allowing pupils from the local area and further afield, including inner city schools, to hear from leading historians and experience living history across various periods in history – such as walking through a WWII trench and listening first hand to the experiences of wartime generals and soldiers, played by reenactors.
The funding from the KM Foundation will allow the Chalke History Trust, established to create a charitable entity that would promote the understanding and enjoyment of history and of which the Chalke History Festival is a subsidiary, to attract more schools from the UK. Generous financial assistance from The Calleva Foundation, the family charity of Simon and Caroline Butt, has also supported the Hub in the filming and editing of the videos.
Schools unable to attend the Schools Festival in June will have round the clock access to the Hub here.
The plan is to film and produce around 15 films annually focused on the UK curriculum with leading festival speakers each year. At every age group a focus on global history is included, which the Chalke Schools History Hub is well designed to support.
A keen historian and benefactor Kumar Muthalagappan is the Founder of the KM Foundation which works to improve education and healthcare provision for all and to provide opportunities to deprived communities to help them progress and flourish.
“The History Hub is an ideal project for the KM Foundation, sharing our ethos of ensuring education is accessible to all and achieving this aim in such a way that the impact of the project is on a grand scale. The concept of the Hub is fresh and unique. By blending curriculum-aligned content with engaging storytelling, we aim to spark curiosity and inspire future generations.” – Kumar Muthalagappan, Founder of the KM Foundation.
To find out more about the KM Foundation initiatives, visit their website here.
“We are very excited to launch our Schools Hub which will provide an amazing resource for teachers and students. With our charitable aim to enthuse and educate people of all ages in the wonders of history, being able to bring history alive online throughout the year for young people is testament to the unparalleled content and convening power of Chalke and we are incredibly grateful to all the generous donors who are funding this important initiative for history education.” – Peter Bell, Chair of the Chalke History Festival.
The Chalke History Festival will take place from 22nd to 28th June 2026. Sign up to the Chalke History Festival newsletter and check chalkefestival.com for updates.
