§ Mr. SpearingTo ask the Secretary of State for Education whether he requested Her Majesty's inspectorate of education to consider and report on the three aspects of the GCSE examinations in its recent report; and if he will indicate the date and nature of similar requests previously made by a Secretary of State and the reference of the relevant published report.
§ Mr. ForthThe recent report on GCSE examining standards in 1992 is the only published report by HMI on the conduct of GCSE examinations. It was not specifically commissioned by my right hon. Friend, but the previous Minister of State did ask HM inspectorate to monitor awarding procedures with especial care following concerns expressed by them in connection with the 1991 examinations.
§ Mr. BennettTo ask the Secretary of State for Education what evidence he has as to the cost of providing each pupil with the Shakespearian texts he has added to the GCSE syllabuses; and how much extra he is allocating to schools to meet this expenditure.
§ Mr. ForthThe works of Shakespeare have traditionally been included in most GCSE English syllabuses. My right hon. Friend, however, decided that 14-year-olds should be tested on their knowledge of a Shakespeare play—chosen from "Julius Caesar", "A Midsummer Night's Dream" and "Romeo and Juliet"—in the first national curriculum tests of this age group in English in 1993. The plays selected were chosen in part because a supply of at least one of the chosen plays can be found in most schools.
Some schools may need to top up their current stock. In doing so, schools will be able to draw on the £15 million worth of schools' expenditure specifically on national curriculum books which the Government have supported through the 1992–1993 grants for education support and training programme.