The Subnormal Scandal

The scandal of ESN schools had a lasting legacy in British schools. We look at how education was covered in multicultural programming across these years.

  • Total running time 115min

Open Door: Racism: the 4th ‘R’

BBC 1983. ALTARF in association with BBC Community Programme Unit. 29 min. Digital

Skin: Multicultural Education

LWT 1981. Director Trevor Hampton. 26min. Digital

Subnormal: A British Scandal

BBC 2021. Director Lyttanya Shannon. 60min. Digital

The structural inequality of British schooling a recurring topic in multicultural television. Black children in the school system were labelled ‘educationally subnormal’ and forced into specialist, which often under-educated them. Recognition of the scandal of subnormal schools has taken a long time to be recognised. The 2021 BBC documentary was an important landmark in this respect.