Oliver hits out at school history teaching

HISTORY in schools is badly taught and is putting children off the subject, according to the presenter of a new TV series on the subject.

Neil Oliver, 41, the host of BBC documentaries including Coast, said history was "an irrelevance" to pupils because teachers lack enthusiasm and expertise in the subject.

He said: "History in terms of its role in the curriculum is in a fairly threatened position, because in some schools it is rolled into social science instead of being taught separately. They are using teachers who trained in different subjects to teach the subject. But what you want from someone who is telling a story, as you do in history, is for it to be obvious they are excited by the story."

Oliver, whose new BBC programme on Scottish history begins next month, said the stories of Scotland's past politics could help pupils understand the politics of the present.

A Government spokes-woman denied Oliver's claims. She said: "History as a subject in Scottish schools is absolutely not under threat. We have made very clear our intention to make history relevant to children today."