Tes delivers third Live Lesson in schools on New King Charles coins

December 2022 

This exciting lesson explores the heritage and history of coinage, looking at their designs, their production and where they are used across the globe. It is a history, art & design curriculum-linked lesson, and is aimed at year 6 primary and year 7 secondary students. 

Using imagery of the monarch on coins is a tradition which dates back thousands of years. This lesson allows pupils to discover more about the history and rich heritage of coinage in the UK, and why, with the recent change of monarch, the coins we all know and love are changing. 

The Tes Live Lesson, led by Amy Williams, Education Manager from The Royal Mint Museum will be released to all schools in the UK (and beyond) on Tuesday 13th December, to celebrate this ‘moment’ in history that has not been experienced for so long due to the long reign of Queen Elizabeth.

Rebecca Morgan, Director of Collector Services, The Royal Mint said of the initiative:

“This really is a momentous occasion, and it is fantastic that students will have the opportunity to learn about the history and significance of this change with this live lesson. The Royal Mint is proud of the important part it plays in the management of the UK’s coinage and to share this with so many pupils across the UK & the globe really is very exciting.

Coins are miniature works of art, they tell us so much about history, and at such a pivotal time, it’s wonderful to see young people engaging with the coins bearing the new effigy of King Charles III and learning more about the role The Royal Mint plays in this transitional time. We also hope this encourages younger people to start their own coin collections.  With the first 50p going into circulation this week, it’s accessible to everyone and is a great time to start a new hobby.”

Luke Homer, Principal at Rivers Academy West London, said:

"We were thrilled that our Year 7 students were able to take part in this Tes live lesson and to be one of the first schools in the country to learn about, investigate and touch the new coins. It's important our students understand the history and heritage of coinage and this lesson ensured it was done in a way that was fun and interactive. 

Rivers Academy West London is part of the Aspirations Academies Trust and our curriculum for pupils in Years 7 & 8 injects Applied Transdisciplinary Learning into the weekly timetable. This involves combining elements of different subjects and applying them to a real-world context to bring learning to life. This Tes live lesson with the Royal Mint was a perfect example of how this works in practice. 

At Rivers Academy West London, we also take cultural capital very seriously and the live lesson allowed us to bring a real world experience into the classroom virtually. The quality of it was superb and was as effective as being at the Royal Mint in person."

Havva Baskal, Head of Partnerships at Tes, added

“Due to the cross-curricular nature of this lesson, it will be useful for both primary & secondary teachers across many subjects. It covers history, art & design, and also looks at international coinage in countries across the globe. The lesson will be offered as a recording after it has streamed, making it flexible enough to fit into anyone’s timetable, whatever their time zone.”

A recent Tes poll* showed that 70% of teachers feared that spending cuts forced by rising costs were likely to prevent them from delivering the broad and balanced curriculum required this year, which is why Tes has partnered with a select number of brands to deliver curriculum-linked lessons with a twist – offering students all over the country new and exciting content across a range of subjects.

This is the third lesson Tes has released from their year-long programme of free, easy-to-use interactive lessons in a range of subjects and key stages. They are designed to supplement the new curriculum, giving students opportunities to enhance their learning and teachers the chance to extend their offerings on important topics. 

More about Tes Live Lessons

• To sign up for the Tes The Royal Mint Live Lesson visit: www.tes.com/live-lessons

• To download the Tes The Royal Mint Live Lesson Guide: click here

*A poll on the Tes.com site was run w/c 5th September. 600 responses were submitted from primary, secondary, alternative provision and special school settings.