WHEN it comes to the past, the future could look bleak in our schools. According to a new Ofsted report, history is suffering in many primary schools because of weak subject knowledge among staff and the use of “disconnected topics” in lessons.

At secondary level, growing numbers of pupils are now exposed to just two years of compulsory history classes instead of the recommended three.

And England is the only country in Europe where schoolchildren are allowed to stop studying history at the age of 13.

The History For All report is based on evidence of inspections of history in 83 primary and 83 secondary schools between April 2007 and March 2010.

It found that in a quarter of secondaries, curriculum changes were having a negative impact on history, with the subject becoming “marginalised” and time for the subject was reduced.

“As a result of trying to cover too much content, teachers talked too much, lessons were rushed, opportunities for debate and reflection were missed and students lost interest.”

In primaries, inspectors raised concerns that many pupils lacked an overview of historical events, and struggled to put them in order.

This is partly because teachers lacked specialist history knowledge and also because some schools were grouping subjects together as “topics” rather than traditional subject classes.

The report did conclude that pupils knew a lot about the particular topics they had studied and the subject is still popular with pupils at both GCSE and A-level.

“However, the report also found that some primary teachers find it difficult to establish a clear picture of the past so that pupils can develop a secure understanding of chronology.

“More attention needs to be given to helping teachers improve their understanding of progression in historical thinking.”

Schools Minister Nick Gibb said: “It is worrying that Ofsted finds that many pupils lack a chronological understanding of history and are unable to make links between events.

“It is also a concern that secondary schools are squeezing history out of the curriculum or into general humanities courses.

“The facts, dates and narrative of history cannot be learnt in disparate chunks - without them we cannot compare, interpret or evaluate the past or draw lessons from them.”

The importance of learning history in schools Historian David Hilliam from Bournemouth is passionate about the subject and has written 21 books on various topics, including a complete survey of all our kings and queens.

He believes history books are popular with adults as there is a genuine desire by many people to make sense of history which they have not been taught at school.

He says: “The importance of teaching history to young people is absolutely paramount.

“Without knowing your past, you cannot understand the present, and you cannot look meaningfully into the future.

“Youngsters in junior schools can easily be excited by tales of heroism and accounts of voyages and discovery, but they need to get these stories set into context.

“My firm belief is that when they are old enough – and by that I mean when they go into their secondary schools – they should be given a short but thorough account of the time-lines of history.

“They should begin with the early civilisations, through the glories of Greece and Rome, the fall of the Roman Empire, and then for British children, they should know about the coming of the Saxons, the Norman Conquest, and then the medieval world.

“Following that comes the Renaissance, the Reformation, the voyages of discovery, the invention of printing, and the gradual beginnings of the modern world with the industrial revolution.

“Later in their school life, they can then pick and choose. First in my priority is the 17th century, with the Civil War and the establishment of the rule of parliament.

“Once a chronology is established, everything else can fall into place, because the pigeon-holes are there ready to be filled.

“Today’s teaching is haphazard. Just for the horror-story, kids are told about Hitler and the Holocaust over and over.

“Ghastly though this was, it is worth just one lesson. A school year needs to span the centuries and this can be done.

“When I went to my secondary school, my history teacher took us right through from the solar system right through to the Second World War – and so when I started my second year there I already knew exactly where to place anything.

“Nowadays, for most kids, history is a mushy maze of random, disconnected happenings.”