Proposals to change school curriculum announced

The curriculum watchdog has proposed a series of changes to the school curriculum in England and Wales.

The changes, recommended by the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority, aim to offer pupils aged between 11 and 14 skills and languages that are more relevant to everyday life, while still retaining core elements of the National Curriculum.

Among the proposals are plans to teach pupils different languages, such as Mandarin and Arabic, which are seen as economically important.

Pupils would also have lessons about climate change and also be taught how to cook healthy meals.

Learning about the British slave trade would become part of history lessons, although pupils will continue to learn about the importance and impact of events in the last century, such as the World Wars and the Holocaust.

Pupils will also be taught essential financial life skills through functional maths and in Personal Social and Health Education. These will include: personal finance, enterprise and financial capability; learning about risk and reward; investment and trade; personal budgeting; mortgages; interest rates; and balancing credit cards.

Pupils will continue to study Shakespeare plays and sonnets as well as the canon of pre-20th century literary classics from the likes of Charles Dickens and Jane Austen. However, the new curriculum will also suggest a new list of contemporary authors such as Benjamin Zephaniah, Philip Pullman and Bill Bryson.

The proposals aim to provide schools a more flexible timetable, with options for schools to devote entire weeks to studying one subject which required more intensive study, while other classes - for languages, for example - would be taught in shorter, but more frequent lessons.

Commenting on the proposals, Education Secretary Alan Johnson said: "The new draft curriculum is designed to create greater flexibility for schools so they can ensure pupils master the basics as well as offer more stretching opportunities for those who excel.

"The curriculum should evolve to meet a rapidly changing world, and enable teachers to teach in a way that will continue to interest and enthuse their pupils. These proposals move us away from a 'one size fits all' curriculum to one that offers more flexibility to tailor teaching to pupils' needs and aspirations. More flexibility for teachers, more interesting for pupils.

"More emphasis has been placed on developing in-depth understanding of the key ideas and practice of particular subjects. But crucially, it is balanced with the retention of tried and tested parts of the curriculum as well as giving young people better personal skills greatly valued by employers."

If the changes are implemented, they would be introduced between 2008 and 2010.

(KMcA)