The exhibition which exposes the link between the Rhymney Valley and the slave trade has been entered into in the Welsh Heritage Schools Initiative, an annual competition aiming to encourage Welsh pupils to take a greater interest in their cultural heritage.
More than 100 students, many working on the project during lunch breaks and after school, contributed to the exhibition which includes a chronological history of the slave trade as well as a scale model of a plantation.
The pupils were recently visited by Islwyn MP Chris Evans, who left impressed with what he saw.
He said: “I would like to pay tribute to the fantastic work done by the pupils at Ysgol Cwm Rhymni and I wish them the best of luck in the competition.
“It is important that future generations are made aware of the terrible history of slavery. It was heartening to see the interest shown by this young generation of historians.
“As the students pointed out to me, it is worth remembering that this appalling trade continues in parts of the world therefore it is vital that we raise awareness of the horrors of slavery.”
The students will find out whether they have won an award for their display during a presentation of their project at Caerphilly Castle in July.
Some say the `slavemaster`s` are alive and well in the valley and conduct their business from political ivory towers
There were connections with the slave trade in Caerffili. The Goodrich family, famous local landowners, dabbled with slavery, at one time.
As the school children pointed out, to Chris Evans MP, slavery continues to this day in many parts of the world. I wish that schools would place more emphasis on the role that parliament and the British armed forces played in ridding large areas of this abhorrent trade. That is a story that everyone in Britain can be justifiably proud.