Secondary school pupils around the country are to learn about Bristol's involvement in the slave trade as part of a national curriculum revamp.

From next month, key stage three pupils aged 11 to 14 will be taught about the trade's link to the history of the British Empire.

The new history curriculum contains more emphasis on ethnic minority groups and their roles in British history.

As part of the study of the slave trade will be Bristol's role in the industry, alongside the work of reformers such as William Wilberforce, the MP whose campaign led to the trade's abolition in 1807.

Paul Stevenson, the Bristol black activist who has campaigned for greater awareness of the slave trade, has been involved with the Government in changing the curriculum.

He says he believes it will be crucial for teachers to treat the subject sensitively.

He said: "People teaching it will need to have an understanding of both the emotional and the historical way that it is going to be taught.

"One of the most important aspects of teaching slavery – to both white and black youngsters – is that we show enough aspects of the fightback by slaves on the boats and the plantations.

"It's very important that people realise that the end of slavery was not about the concept of liberal do-goodism, but was in fact about the physical rejection of the trade by the enslaved Africans."

Teachers have been told to ask pupils questions such as "What does it mean to be free?", as well as looking at links to emancipation and racial segregation.

Mr Stevenson said he was pleased to see the subject was being discussed.

"I have always said that this is something which needs to be acknowledged," he said.

"The worst thing that can be done is to brush history under the carpet and pretend it didn't happen."

Children will also learn about notable black figures in American history and the civil rights movement in the US.

But the new syllabus stretches further than learning about slavery.

Pupils, aged 11 to 14, will study the history and growth of the British Empire and its impact on people overseas as well as learning how the British took control of India and the rise and fall of the Mughal Empire.

This will reinforce the idea that civilisation was not confined to Britain and Europe in the 16th and 17th centuries. Colonial rule in Africa and the empires of Islam in Africa, are also topics suggested by the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority. The study of the two world wars, and the Holocaust are already compulsory parts of the history curriculum.