Chalke History Festival, supported by Evelyn Partners, has launched a ground-breaking new Schools Hub, after receiving a generous donation of £100,000 from the KM Foundation, which works to improve education and healthcare provision, and to provide deprived communities with the opportunities that will help them progress and flourish.

The Chalke Schools History Hub will work in partnership with leading historians to provide a high-quality online history platform that 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.

Designed to work alongside teaching in the classroom, and to meet curriculum requirements for Key Stages 2-5 and the International Baccalaureate system, it will enable teachers to enhance their lessons with unique content delivered by experts in the field. Using a Netflix/YouTube-style interface, the Hub will allow teachers, parents, students and other interested parties to view valuable information about Britain's - and the world’s - most prominent eras in history. 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.

Already on the Hub are a range of short, inspirational films and presentations about the Iron Age, the Tudors, the Weimar Republic, the Middle Ages, Empire, and the Cold War, among others. And thanks to the funding provided by partners such as the KM Foundation and The Calleva Foundation, which has supported the Hub in filming and editing videos, organizers aim to add new material on a regular basis, with around 15 films produced annually.

The Hub complements 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, 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.

Each year, Chalke History Festival also offers a two-day festival for schools that allows pupils from the local area and further afield, including inner-city schools, to hear from leading historians and experience living history – such as walking through a Second World War trench and listening first hand to the experiences of wartime generals and soldiers, played by re-enactors. This new funding from the KM Foundation will now allow the Chalke History Trust - a charity established to promote the understanding, and enjoyment, of history, and of which Chalke History Festival is a subsidiary - to attract more schools from the UK. Schools unable to attend the Schools Festival in June will have round-the-clock access to the Hub via https://hub.chalkefestival.com/school-hub.

Kumar Muthalagappan, keen historian and founder of the KM Foundation, said: '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.'

Peter Bell, Chair of the Chalke History Festival, said: '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.'

You can find out more about KM Foundation initiatives by visiting: https://www.thekmfoundation.org/

Chalke History Festival will take place from 22nd to 28th June 2026.  For more details about the festival, please visit our website at www.chalkefestival.com or contact Alex Hippisley-Cox at [email protected] or 07921 127077.

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Image © Martin Cook.