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This article examines the implications of the transition to online or blended learning for first generation scholars (FGS) brought about by COVID-19. We present the findings of a mixed methods project that draws data from both in-depth qualitative interviews and a large quantitative survey of students at Durham University. We offer a comparative analysis of how FGS contrast to the general student body in relation to a range of key challenges that COVID-19 and the consequent 'online pivot' posed to university life including technological, social and resource based issues. Our findings demonstrate that FGS were particularly affected by this shift to online or blended learning. The final substantive section discusses a range of potential mitigation strategies adopted by the School of Government and International Affairs, Durham University, with the assumption that some, at least, of these, and our data, will be of wider relevance in the sector.

This article presents the findings of research into the teaching of local industrial history in a socially deprived primary school in post-industrial north-east England. The first of the article's three substantive sections sets out the methodology and rationale. The second, drawing on qualitative data from participant observation, semi-structured interviews and focus groups with teachers and pupils, presents our main findings; that such teaching can fit with the demands of the English national curriculum; that it can be particularly engaging for children and, drawing on the place-based education literature, that it can also enable children to better understand who they are, in relation to their environment. The discussion section finds that the topic can appeal regardless of ethnicity or gender. We further conclude that schools can benefit significantly in the successful delivery of this teaching from partnerships with the local expertise of relevant community associations.