On 26 November 2010 the Better History Group, a group of experienced teachers and professionals concerned at the decline in school history co-led by Dr Sean Lang (Senior Lecturer in History at Anglia Ruskin University), unveiled its proposals for a major shake-up of the school history curriculum in an official submission to the Secretary of State for Education.

In line with the transformation of the school curriculum announced in the 24 November White Paper, the Better History Group's submission calls for:

• A broad baccalaureate of compulsory major subjects to be studied to 16
• An outline history of Britain to be studied by all students from 11-16
• An emphasis on the extension of students' historical knowledge
• The removal of work with historical sources from history exams
• A revision of assessment at GCSE and A-level to reward, rather than penalise, original thinking

The Better History Group is led by Dr Sean Lang, Nicolas Kinloch, (Professional Tutor at The Netherhall School, Cambridge), and Martin Roberts, (responsible for history on the Academic Steering Group of the Prince's Training Institute and former headteacher of the Cherwell School, Oxford). All three are experienced classroom teachers and have written textbooks for schools, and all have held senior positions within the Historical Association.

The Better History Group's submission attacks the orthodoxy within the history world that holds that historical skills are as important as historical knowledge.

"In theory, history teachers would say that knowledge and skills are both important," Dr Lang said. "In reality, many believe their role is to teach skills rather than knowledge. The Better History Group believes that, as a result, young people's historical knowledge, particularly of the history of Britain, has suffered. Skills matter, but knowledge matters more."

Changes to the A-level structure since the Dearing Review in 2000 mean that the amount of history a student needs to know in order to gain an A-level is demonstrably smaller than it was ten years ago. Some teachers have argued for the number of topics students cover at GCSE and A-level to be cut still further. The Better History Group rejects these calls and recommends a continuous course of study in history from 11?16, in which students could use any or all of the history they learn for their final assessment.

"We want students to know more, not less," Dr Lang said. "This is a declaration of war on historical ignorance and on all those who would defend, justify and even extend it."

For more information, please contact sean.lang@anglia.ac.uk.

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