The national curriculum for 11 to 14-year-olds is being replaced with the aim of being more relevant to today's pupils. Lindsay Jennings looks at what the changes will mean for teachers and children.

THE restrictive nature of the national curriculum has long been a complaint among teachers. Long gone, it seemed, were the days of spontaneity. Creativity appeared to be limited to the odd art class. There was a feeling of teaching in straitjackets.

But yesterday the Government set out plans for a new curriculum, one that will purportedly give teachers the freedom they crave over their lessons. And so it is off with the heads of Elizabeth I and Henry VIII, who remain out of the curriculum, with more emphasis on subjects such as the two world wars, the history of the European Union and the slave trade, which was previously an optional element.

There will also be a greater focus on topics for today's children - life skills such as lessons in how to look after your finances, the importance of healthy eating and the dangers of alcohol, drugs and smoking.

The Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA) has had the task of rewriting the curriculum, which was first mapped out in the 1980s when there was an A4 binder for each of the 12 subjects. The new curriculum, which will be taught from September 2008, is "now down to a couple of pages", says Ken Boston the QCA chief executive.

But in many classrooms up and down the country, the words 'here we go again' will be heard. Teachers just get used to one curriculum, and it is turned upside down by the Government.

Says Yorkshire's Brian Garvey, ex-national president of the teaching union NASUWT: "It may sound good, giving kids all the different choices that have been proposed, and they may be laudable, but what the Government needs to realise is that teachers have to reorgnise their own curriculums so it's extra work load again."

Asked about the much trumpeted freedom for teachers in the new curriculum and Mr Garvey laughs.

"I can't see there being a great deal, to be honest. It will still be governed by criteria that Ofsted has set and by the tests - SATS (national tests) and GCSES. The changes that are needed are the removal of league tables. Not so much the tests but how the tests are used is what puts teachers in straitjackets."

But a geography teacher in an inner city state school in the North-East believes the changes will make a positive difference - to teachers and pupils.

"At my school there are successful teachers because they're very good at teaching the curriculum and it's just about ticking a box," he says. "I'm not against the national curriculum but I feel teachers should be treated with more respect and seen as professionals who can make key decisions without being told what to teach."

Regarding some elements of the announcement, he questions what "all the hooh-ha" is about.

"How can any self-respecting geography teacher not teach anything about climate change anyway?" he says.

And he believes that constructivist teaching, looking at what knowledge the children have and what their interests are, will benefit pupils.

"I'm Oxford educated and I'm quite interested in the academic side but I know I couldn't work in Eastbourne School in Darlington and just teach them about the glaciers that I'm interested in," he says.

"But you talk about the Riverside Stadium when you're teaching kids in Middlesbrough, for example, and relate it to their studies and suddenly the whole class is interested."

Capturing the interest of children is what has driven the changes in the curriculum. It had its critics yesterday - a concern that Winston Churchill and Hitler had been left off the curriculum - but with the two world wars included, headteachers say it is unlikely that the iconic figures will be left out of the classroom.

"I can't see a situation at all where you would talk about the two world wars and not mention them," says Keith Cotgrave, headteacher at Longfield School in Darlington.

"But it's not intended to be nationally prescriptive and the curriculum should be much more flexible for interpretation."

Ultimately it is time for the straitjackets to come off, a prospect that Mr Cotgrave, for one, is looking forward to.

"Teachers currently know it as a list of instructions and that was never the intention of it," he says.

"I'm personally going to make sure that staff don't see it simply as a list of things to do. I look forward to receiving the details."

What pupils must learn under the new curriculum

HISTORY

Pupils aged 11-14 will study the history of Britain, Europe and the world. Topics include the First and Second World Wars, the Holocaust, the British Empire and slave trade and the history of the European Union and United Nations.

Schools will be encouraged to take pupils on visits to museums, galleries and historical sights.

There is no specific mention of the Wars of the Roses, Elizabeth I or Henry VIII and his wives.

ENGLISH

The new curriculum focuses on reading and writing accurately and speaking clearly. A list of recommended authors for 11-14-year-olds includes contemporary writers such as Douglas Adams, Philip Pullman and Alan Bennett, 20th Century classics including TS Eliot and George Orwell, and earlier writers such as Jane Austen and Charles Dickens.

Pupils will also have to study ''at least one play by Shakespeare''. There is a focus on spelling, punctuation and grammar and children will be expected to speak ''standard English fluently''.

GEOGRAPHY

This subject ''inspires pupils to become global citizens by exploring their own place in the world''.

Topics for 11-14-year-olds include climate change and understanding cultural diversity. Pupils should be able to use fieldwork tools and read maps.

MATHEMATICS

The new curriculum programme of study states that maths is ''a creative discipline'' with an ''international'' language.

Children will cover key concepts including algebra, linear equations, proportions, ratios and rounding.

SCIENCE

Lessons for 11-14-year-olds should cover the ethical and moral implications of science as well as the key methods of practical lab work.

Children should learn about the importance of healthy eating and regular exercise, as well as ''the effects of drugs such as alcohol, tobacco and cannabis on mental and physical health''. Sexual health and infections should be studied.

MODERN LANGUAGES

Pupils will be able to study traditional subjects such as French or German as well as Russian, Mandarin, Japanese, Arabic and Urdu.