HL Deb 04 July 2000 vol 614 c127WA
Baroness Anelay of St Johns

asked Her Majesty's Government:

What measures they are taking to ensure that children leave school with a knowledge of the core texts of English Literature. [HL3080]

Baroness Blackstone

The revised National Curriculum, to be introduced from September 2000, sets out the requirements for teaching English in both primary and secondary schools. In primary schools the range of literature should include works by significant children's authors and long established children's fiction. Since January 1998, primary schools have received on average £5,000 each for the purchase of books.

Children between the ages of 11 and 16 are required to study the works of a range of major writers and poets, both classic and modern. The range should include plays, novels, short stories and poetry from the English literary heritage. Classical authors represented include Jane Austen, Charles Dickens, John Milton and William Wordsworth. Two plays by William Shakespeare must also be studied.