Shakespeare to be dropped from secondary school tests under 'politically correct' plans

Shakespeare will be ditched from secondary school tests under plans being considered by ministers, it emerged yesterday.

Teenagers would no longer sit formal tests on the country's most renowned playwright under a shake-up of English Sats for 14-year-olds.

They would instead be assessed by their teachers on their understanding of the plays after performing them and studying their 'wider cultural context'.

The Conservatives last night branded the proposals 'politically correct meddling' and accused ministers of  'downgrading' the importance of the Bard.

The plans emerged just days after ministers unveiled a Shakespeare initiative to reverse years of decline in the teaching of his works.

Announcing it, Schools Minister Jim Knight said the playwright was 'a protected part of the curriculum in the country he came from'.

The Department for Children said it had not yet taken firm decisions on the direction of Shakespeare assessment for 14-year-olds.

New-style Sats tests being trialled in 400 schools with a view to nationwide introduction from 2010 do not include a Shakespeare section.

Instead, the Government has produced new materials to help teachers assess pupils' understanding of the Bard without the use of tests.

'These tasks, which are currently under development, will encourage lively and active approaches to Shakespeare that engage with the text as something to be performed; involve the study of the whole play; and consider Shakespeare in a wider cultural and literary context,' a spokesman said.

However Shadow Children’s Secretary Michael Gove said: 'The father of English literature is being downgraded yet again.

'We already know that the English GCSE course is going to have less literature in the future and we're slipping down the international league tables for literacy.

'People will ask why this Government prefers politically correct meddling to high standards.'

The assessment of Shakespeare in secondary schools has had a chequered history.

Former Tory Education Secretary John Patten introduced compulsory Shakespeare testing in 1993 but faced immediate calls to replace it with teacher assessment.

His successor, Gillian Shepherd, rejected the calls and questions on Shakespeare remain in the present tests.

But teachers continue to claim they have led to pupils studying scenes in isolation and tackling 'laughable' questions sometimes unrelated to the plays, and are certain to welcome the proposed changes.

The Department for Children said pupils would still have to study two Shakespeare plays at secondary school.

'The teacher-assessed tasks that will be trialled from September will provide assessable written outcomes, with the option to supplement this with oral evidence,' he said.

'The tasks are still under development and their future has not been decided.

'We are simply exploring new, innovative and exciting ways of teaching and assessing Shakespeare.'

Under the Government's Shakespeare strategy, the Bard will be taught to children as young as six thanks to new teaching packs being sent to primary schools which include abridged film versions of his plays.

Children will begin preparatory studies in nursery classes.

More children will be taken on theatre visits and schools will be encouraged to stage Shakespeare productions.