Ofsted chief: Too many children drop history or French at just 13

TOO many pupils are having to drop key subjects including history and French to allow them to start GCSE courses a year earlier, the head of Ofsted has warned.

Amanda Spielman, chief inspector of schools, accused headteachers of ‘whittling away’ the broader curriculum for hundreds of thousands of students.

An Ofsted study has discovered that at least a quarter of secondary schools are slashing Key Stage Three by a year, to enable the expansion of GCSE courses to three years. But this means that many pupils are stopping core subjects such as humanities and foreign languages at 13.

Miss Spielman told The Times: ‘Starting GCSEs a year early is something worth thinking about carefully. At the point pupils start GCSEs they are typically dropping the subjects we all think are part of the broad education we expect. This is the point — children are now dropping geography, history and languages. I am concerned when I see what is being whittled away, often with the best of intentions. Children are being asked to make choices very early.’

The first three years of secondary education are known as Key Stage Three.

Youngsters study a huge range of subjects, including food technology, computing, music, art, languages, humanities, the three sciences, religion as well as English and maths. The breadth is designed to give pupils the chance to discover their strengths. But if they begin GCSE courses early, subjects must be dropped to let them focus on about ten qualifications. The Ofsted study found that history, geography and foreign languages were subjects most commonly dropped.

Nick Brook, deputy general secretary of the National Association of Head Teachers, said: ‘Allowing students to choose some options at the end of Year Eight so they no longer have to continue with those subjects can mean those students remain more engaged and Year Nine is a better experience for them.’

A Department for Education spokesman said: ‘In designing and delivering their curriculum, schools must take the interests of their pupils into account.’