HC Deb 17 February 1992 vol 204 cc36-7W
Dr. Hampson

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what consideration he gave to the curriculum requirements for music in Wales and Scotland when drawing up his plans for England.

Mr. Eggar

My right hon. and learned Friend based his draft order for music in the national curriculum for pupils aged five to 14 on the advice of the National Curriculum Council, the statutory body which advises him on curriculum matters in respect of schools in England. The music curriculum for schools in Wales and Scotland is a matter for my right hon. Friends the Secretaries of State for Wales and for Scotland in the light of advice from their respective curriculum councils.

Dr. Hampson

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what assessment he has made of the impact his proposed curriculum requirements for teaching music in England will have on the structure of the GCSE; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Eggar

The draft order on the music curriculum which is currently out for consultation covers five to 14-year-olds only. The implications of the final order for GCSEs in music will be considered by the School Assessment and Examinations Council, in consultation with the National Curriculum Council, when they come to revise the criteria for new GCSE syllabuses for first examination in 1996.