Schools told to dump Churchill and Hitler from history lessons

UK Daily Mail | July 13, 2007

by LAURA CLARK

Even Winston Churchill no longer merits a mention after a drastic slimming-down of the syllabus to create more space for "modern" issues.

Along with Hitler, Gandhi, Stalin and Martin Luther King, the former prime minister has been dropped from a list of key figures to be mentioned in history teaching.

This means pupils may no longer hear about his stirring speeches during the Second World War, when he told Parliament that defeating Hitler would be Britain's "finest hour".

The only individuals now named in guidance accompanying the curriculum are anti-slavery campaigners Olaudah Equiano and William Wilberforce.

The omission of Churchill added to a growing row over Labour reforms to secondary education - the most radical since the national curriculum was introduced in 1988.

Critics warned traditional subject disciplines were being stripped of key content and used to promote fashionable causes and poorly-defined "life skills".

They said that while the two World Wars remain on the curriculum as broad topics the failure to specify teaching on Churchill - while naming other individuals - downgraded his importance.

The move was called "madness" by his grandson Nicholas Soames, the Tory MP.

"It is absurd. I expect he wasn't New Labour enough for them," he said.

Tory spokesman on children Michael Gove added: "Winston Churchill is the towering figure of twentieth century British history.

"His fight against fascism was Britain's finest hour. Our national story can't be told without Churchill at the centre."

Schools are also being told to tear up the timetable of eight lessons a day and introduce classes lasting a few minutes - or several hours - by mixing different subjects together.

Five-minute lessons on spelling, French or German could be "drip-fed" throughout the day.

The architect of the new curriculum, Dr Ken Boston, insisted traditional approaches had been "exhausted".

The slimline regime is being introduced amid concerns that teachers do not have enough time to ensure youngsters master the three Rs.

Key subjects such as history and science will be cut back to allow teachers to spend a quarter of the day helping pupils who struggle with literacy and numeracy.

At the same time, staff will be expected to introduce topics such as personal finance and Urdu aimed at preparing youngsters for life in the 21st century.

The new curriculum - introduced from September next year - precedes the introduction of "functional skills" tests in English and maths.

These are intended to counter criticism that 16-year-olds can score high grades at GCSE without mastering the three Rs.

The news follows a report from the think-tank Civitas warning that subjects are being hijacked by politicians to promote pet causes.

Deputy director Robert Whelan said: "It is almost as if the Government has taken the damaging trends highlighted in our report and ratcheted them up a notch."

However Schools Minister Lord Adonis said that even if Churchill was no longer named in the curriculum, his contribution to British life would still be covered.

"Nobody with any sense could believe that we could teach the Second World War - a statutory requirement - without covering Winston Churchill and Hitler," he added.

Lotteries to allocate school places could be extended across the country after an official adjudicator backed a pioneering scheme in Brighton.

Canon Richard Lindley ruled that ballots were a "reasonable means" of awarding places at over-subscribed schools.

They could now replace selection by catchment area, which is said to favour middle-class families able to afford homes near good schools.