§ Lord Swinfenasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they are satisfied that there is a sufficient supply of all the set books required by teachers and pupils for each to have a copy in order to prepare for the National Curriculum Key stage 3 Assessment tests in June 1993, and if not when they will be available and whether this will leave sufficient time for adequate preparation.
§ The Minister of State, Department of Education (Baroness Blatch)There will be National Curriculum tests for 14 year-olds in June 1993 in English, mathematics, science and technology. In English, the test of reading will involve pupils of lower ability responding to questions about one book chosen from a list of 30, and pupils of average and higher ability responding to questions about one Shakespeare play from a list of three.
Schools were made aware of these texts in September 1992. The texts were selected because they were considered to be already widely available in 74WA schools. An anthology required for Key Stage 3 English has been supplied to all secondary schools free of charge.
Some schools may need to replenish stocks. To help with this and other requirements of the National Curriculum, the department is supporting expenditure on books by schools up to £15 million in 1992–93 under grants for education support and training arrangements.