VE Day 75: Virtual tea party for U.K. primary schools Primary school children across the UK are invited to join a virtual tea party on Thursday 7th May, marking the 75th anniversary of VE Day. Broadcast live on Discovery Education’s website at 11am, the free event will bring schools and families together to commemorate the end of World War II in a special virtual celebration. Organised by Discovery Education, the virtual tea party will centre around a special episode of Espresso NewsBites, the popular online school news programme. Featuring interviews with World War II survivors, the programme will be freely available to all children across the UK. The special broadcast at 11am on 7th May will be the culmination of a series of exciting home-learning activities bringing World War II learning to life. Children will be encouraged to share their work via email and social media to see it feature in the programme and to host their own family tea parties while watching. Discovery Education also wants families to share photos of their tea parties on social media during the event. Starting today, Monday 27th April, free World War II lesson plans, activities and printable resources will be shared daily on Twitter: @DiscoveryEdUK. From writing poems and stories to designing posters and making videos, pupils will learn about the history, geography, and social aspects of the war. They will also be encouraged to bake cakes, make bunting and design their own costumes. Kristina Mjomark, Head of Curriculum Content at Discovery Education said: “We’re delighted to give parents, teachers and children the opportunity to mark the 75th anniversary of VE Day at home, particularly as many of the celebrations planned by schools have sadly been postponed. We want to enable as many people as we can to join our virtual tea party and celebrate on 7th May. Our free resources and lesson plans will help families to get ready for the celebration while learning about the important events of World War II.” Parents and teachers can take part in Discovery Education’s special VE Day Virtual Tea Party by: 1) Following Discovery Education on Twitter @DiscoveryEdUK. To access free resources and activities from Monday 27th April 2) Sharing pictures and videos of children’s VE Day-themed work on social media @DiscoveryEdUK or via email: discoveryeducationuk@discoveryed.com 3) Hosting a tea party and watching Espresso Newsbites at 11am on 7th May at: discoveryeducation.co.uk/free-resources 4) Sharing pictures and videos of tea party celebrations on social media @DiscoveryEdUK Discovery Education is also making additional new resources available to schools that subscribe to its award-winning digital learning service- including a new KS2 World War II module. Exploring the events leading up to the conflict and what life was like in Britain, the new module uses dynamic digital content to bring this important period in history to life and is available to partner schools from today. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Discovery Education is offering a whole range of free curriculum-matched resources to teachers and parents. Suitable for pupils at Foundation Stage to Upper Key Stage 2, the resources include videos, interactive quizzes, worksheets and activities linked to key subject areas. Children can also enjoy Active Kids Do Better, a fun physical activity programme developed with Nike and Social Distance Training a special app which uses augmented reality to teach children about safe social distancing. Find out more at: discoveryeducation.co.uk/free-resources. Discovery Education’s digital resources are trusted by thousands of UK primary schools. We’re the makers behind the award-winning digital learning service Discovery Education Espresso, Discovery Education Coding and Discovery Education STEM Connect.