Consigned to history - 70 per cent drop key subject before GCSE

The watchdog said the crucial subject was seen as irrelevant and marginal in too many schools.

Instead of giving youngsters a chronological overview of history, lessons had been reduced to a random collection of topics.

This meant that pupils' knowledge of key events and historical figures was patchy or non-existent.

Most primary children were taught history by staff who had barely studied the subject themselves since the age of 14, meaning lessons "lacked rigour".

Secondary pupils are so bored by the subject more than two thirds opt out at the earliest opportunity and never study history when they are mature enough to understand it.

Seventy per cent of pupils drop history before GCSE, according to the report, titled 'History in the Balance'. Ofsted's indictment is embarrassing for ministers. They are already trying to play down the decision to remove Winston Churchill from the recommended secondary school curriculum.

Ofsted said the curriculum from infants onwards needs revamping to ensure pupils leave school with a proper sense of "Britain's story".

But inspectors said many teachers were resistant to the idea of teaching Britishness, even though it could help pupils grasp the country's common values as well as appreciate its diverse cultures.

The watchdog warned against trendy 'theme-based' teaching and said history must retain its 'subject integrity'.

The conclusions are based on inspections of hundreds of primary and secondary schools over four years.

Inspectors found that teaching too often darts between different topics, leaving pupils unable to answer the "big questions" in history. In one primary, pupils switched between the Romans, the Second World War and Ancient Egypt in one year.

The report said: "Young people's knowledge is often very patchy and specific. They often do not know about key historical events, people and ideas and there is often unjustified repetition of topics at different stages of pupils' school careers."

It added: "Although pupils often know something about selected periods or events - for example, children in Victorian times, Henry VIII and his wives, or the Aztecs - they are weak at linking this information to form an overall narrative or story."

Problems were particularly stark at primary school, where teachers often lacked specialist knowledge. Many had not even studied it at GCSE and teacher training courses lack depth.

It meant too much history teaching in primary schools was "disappointing" and "pedestrian", with too many lessons lacking "progression and rigour".

The report said: "The overall picture is that teaching and learning (of history) are still not good enough. Some policy developers, senior school managers, parents and pupils do not perceive history as either relevant or important."

Shadow children's secretary Michael Gove said: "Ofsted underlines the importance of rigour and giving pupils a proper connected sense of what went on in the past.

"The plans for five-minute lessons and writing Churchill out of the past are the complete opposite of that, and won't give the next generation the understanding it deserves of our national story."

Schools minister Jim Knight said the Government was acting to improve history, which is already "a strong subject".