Mr. TerryTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science (1) if he will list the people who were consulted when the consultative report on attainment targets in geography was revised over Christmas 1990; and how many of these were geographers or geography teachers;
(2) why he decided to remove inquiry skills and land-use conflicts from the attainment targets in geography.
§ Mr. EggarMy right hon. and learned Friend received advice from the National Curriculum Council in the form of its report on consultation and recommendations for both attainment targets and programmes of study in geography. He accepted the greater part of this advice, but made a number of changes in publishing the draft order for geography. At that time, he explained his view that the main emphasis of the attainment targets should be on the assessment of pupils' knowledge and understanding of aspects of geography, and that less emphasis should be placed on the assessment of skills which are not particular to geography and the study of people's attitudes and opinions.