Today, Year 5 children have been learning about NASA’s ‘Hidden Figures’ the female mathematicians: Mary Jackson, Katherine Johnson and Dorothy Vaughan, who were pivotal in the ‘space race’ in the 60’s.

The children were given a series of pictures from the period, which included some images showing the various forms of segregation in place at the time such as white and coloured rest room signs, men only working environments and so on and discussed how they felt about these images and how they do not reflect an equal and inclusive environment.

“Hidden Figures”, written by Margot Lee Shetterly is a phenomenal true story of the black female mathematicians at NASA whose calculations helped fuel some of America’s greatest achievements in space. A powerful, revelatory history essential to our understanding of race, discrimination, and achievement in modern America.