Pupils face compulsory lessons in evolution
'History to be reinforced, not pushed out'
All primary school pupils will receive compulsory lessons in evolution and British history, Children's Secretary Ed Balls announced yesterday.
Schools will be legally required to teach Darwin's theory about the origins of species in science lessons from 2011, under a new primary curriculum.
It has been included after a Government consultation with the science community, parents and teachers, who said evolution is an important part of science education. It is already taught in secondary schools.
The curriculum now includes a requirement for pupils to "investigate and explain how plants and animals are interdependent and are diverse and adapted to their environment as a result of evolution."
Pupils should learn about the subject during the later years of their primary education, it says. The curriculum is contained in a new education Bill that was introduced to Parliament yesterday.
It comes after a review by Sir Jim Rose, which called for urgent reforms to protect primary schools struggling to cope with the overloaded curriculum.
Rather than teach individual subjects, it proposed six new "areas of learning".
The curriculum also includes a specific requirement for pupils to learn about British history.
Ministers said they had chosen to "reinforce" this subject following fears that history would be pushed out under the new areas of learning.
When the draft plans were published earlier this year, Mr Balls insisted that history will remain firmly on the curriculum, following reports that pupils would be taught internet skills, such as how to use Twitter, ahead of historical subjects.
The new curriculum does not specify which areas of British history pupils should study.
It means that children will not necessarily learn about the two world wars, the Victorians or the Tudors.
Ministers said this had been done to give schools and teachers the freedom to choose what to teach. The curriculum includes a reference to the Romans, Anglo-Saxons, Vikings and Normans as an example of what pupils could be taught.
Schools Minister Vernon Coaker said: "What and how our children learn lies at the heart of our policies to raise standards. We've seen that an inspiring and rigorous curriculum can transform failing schools, which is why these plans are based on the very best practice from this country's top-class teachers."