This page contains resources intended to be used alongside Leave Taking: The GCSE Study Guide by Lynette Carr Armstrong and Samantha Wharton:
- Resources referred to in the Study Guide, organised by page number
- Additional resources for further study
Resources referred to in the Study Guide
The following links appear in your Study Guide, and are organised here by page number.
Page 12
Read about Empire Day in Jamaica: https://jamaica-history.weebly.com/may-24th.html
Page 13
Watch a video about Nanny of the Maroons
Page 17
Read about the timeline of Windrush migration, and the events leading up to the Windrush scandal, in the government’s Lessons Learned report: https://bit.ly/494zgp2
Page 18
Read Enoch Powell’s controversial Rivers of Blood speech in full: https://anth1001.files.wordpress.com/2014/04/enoch-powell_speech.pdf
Page 20
Read about the Windrush Generation on the British Library website: https://www.bl.uk/windrush/articles/how-caribbean-migrants-rebuilt-britain
Watch a 2.5 minute video about the experience of Rosemarie, who migrated to the UK as a child as part of the Windrush generation
There are more life stories and links to recordings of stories on the British Library website
https://www.bl.uk/windrush/articles/windrush-generations-1000-londoners
Page 21
Read about the first Black parliamentarians in the UK: https://www.Blackhistorymonth.org.uk/article/section/history-of-politics/the-first-Black-parliamentarians-in-our-times/
Browse Race Today magazine for the years relevant to Leave Taking: https://archive.org/details/racetoday
Page 22
Watch a 1980s documentary video about riots in Chapeltown, Leeds, following the arrest of Marcus Skellington
Page 23
Watch a 1980s TV studio discussion with young people about race and integration: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZKcCGs86M2M
Read information and watch discussions about the New Cross Fire: https://Blackhistorystudies.com/resources/resources/the-new-cross-fire/
Page 24
Listen to a musical interpretation of Sonny’s Lettah by Linton Kwesi Johnson
Page 25
Watch the trailer for the BBC’s Small Axe series of films for a glimpse of youth culture
Watch an interview with director Steve McQueen about Small Axe film Lover’s Rock
Watch the full episode: https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m000prjp/small-axe-series-1-lovers-rock
Page 27
Watch a documentary about Black children being sent to schools for the ‘Educationally Subnormal’: https://www.Blackhistorymonth.org.uk/article/section/film/subnormal-a-british-scandal/
Page 28
Read about the Windrush generation and the Windrush Scandal, and watch short clips of victims Michael Braithwaite and Johnny Samuels speaking about their experiences: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-43782241
Page 29
Read about the Black feminist movement: https://nmaahc.si.edu/explore/stories/revolutionary-practice-Black-feminisms
Page 32
Listen to a Q&A podcast with Winsome Pinnock about writing Leave Taking, recorded in April 2020 for the NHB Playgroup initiative.
Watch an interview with Winsome Pinnock about writing Leave Taking, recorded in April 2018 ahead of the play's revival at the Bush Theatre, London.
Page 34
Listen to an excerpt of the play recorded at the National Theatre Sound Studio
Read more about the history of Black plays at the National Theatre: https://artsandculture.google.com/story/Black-plays-at-the-national-theatre-national-theatre/UAVxRuJrcxgA8A?hl=en-GB
Additional resources for further study
You may find some of the following links interesting and useful.
The play
A trailer from the 2018 Bush theatre production, introducing Winsome Pinnock and Leave Taking, and featuring some lines from the play:
Visit the play's page at the Black Plays Archive, where you can explore production details and listen to an extract of the play recorded at the National Theatre Sound Studio in 2010.
A review of the play’s 1995 production from Variety magazine: https://variety.com/1995/film/reviews/leave-taking-1200440085/
A review of the Bush theatre’s 2018 production from the Guardian: https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2018/jun/01/leave-taking-winsome-pinnock-bush-theatre-review-its-insights-and-honesty-still-shock
A review of Tower Theatre’s 2022 production: https://breaking-the-fourth-wall.com/2022/10/02/leave-taking-tower-theatre-review/
Migration and Windrush
A general overview of migration to the UK throughout history: https://www.ourmigrationstory.org.uk/oms/by-era/AD43%E2%80%931500
Pre-Windrush Black British history:
https://www.futurelearn.com/info/courses/black-tudors/
An article about Black women in Britain: https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2014/oct/06/black-women-in-britain-from-the-romans-to-the-windrush
Windrush-related articles from the British Library website:
https://www.bl.uk/windrush/articles/windrush-and-the-making-of-post-imperial-britain
https://www.bl.uk/windrush/articles/sound-systems
https://www.bl.uk/windrush/themes/the-windrush-generation-scandal
Historical information about Enoch Powell and his ‘Rivers of blood’ speech: https://www.historyextra.com/period/20th-century/rivers-blood-speech-divides-britain/
An article about the ‘Sus’ law: https://irr.org.uk/article/fighting-sus-then-and-now/
A BBC news story about the Windrush Scandal: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-61637813
Jamaican culture and history
An article about Jamaica after the abolition of slavery: https://scholar.library.miami.edu/emancipation/jamaica5.htm
A history of Nanny, and the Maroons: https://www.rmg.co.uk/stories/blog/nanny-maroons
An article about the history and criminalisation of obeah: https://www.historyworkshop.org.uk/empire-decolonisation/the-racist-history-of-jamaicas-obeah-laws/
Recommended TV series
Three Little Birds, a drama about Windrush migrants, on ITVX: https://www.itv.com/watch/three-little-birds/10a3668?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIqpH_0OH1ggMVUsHtCh1cWAvDEAAYASAAEgLkO_D_BwE
Sitting in Limbo, a drama about the Windrush Scandal, on BBC iPlayer: https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episodes/p08g29ff/sitting-in-limbo
Exam board information
AQA
Assessment resources: https://www.aqa.org.uk/subjects/english/gcse/english-literature-8702/assessment-resources?f.Resource+type%7C6=Mark+schemes
Schemes of assessment: https://www.aqa.org.uk/subjects/english/gcse/english-literature-8702/scheme-of-assessment
OCR
A sample question paper: https://www.ocr.org.uk/Images/169188-unit-j352-01-exploring-modern-and-literary-heritage-texts-sample-assessment-materials.pdf
Specimen questions: https://www.ocr.org.uk/Images/639353-exploring-modern-and-literary-heritage-texts-leave-taking-set-1.pdf
An assessment overview for Leave Taking (downloads as a Powerpoint): https://www.ocr.org.uk/Images/639717-leave-taking-assessment-overview.pptx
Eduqas
Past papers and mark schemes: https://www.eduqas.co.uk/qualifications/english-literature-gcse/#tab_pastpapers