‘Soulful education’: Manchester’s new supplementary school wants teens to belong

Rekindle, run by young pioneers, aims to reignite a love for learning in working-class kids

When Black Lives Matter protests swept the UK last year, Brother Nia Imara said his phone went crazy". Imara is the founder of the National Association of Black Supplementary Schools (Nabss), a network of Saturday or after-schools set up to tackle the underachievement of black children in mainstream education. I was getting a lot of phone calls from parents saying, I want my child to learn their history and their culture,'" he said.

The conversation in the aftermath of George Floyd's murder led many to discover the history of the black supplementary schools movement, which began in the 1970s when black communities set up weekend schools in response to racism within the mainstream school system.