Teachers 'insulted' by government spelling list

Secondary schools reacted angrily yesterday to the publication of a list of more than 700 officially approved words that the Government believes pupils should be able to spell by the age of 14.

Secondary schools reacted angrily yesterday to the publication of a list of more than 700 officially approved words that the Government believes pupils should be able to spell by the age of 14.

The list from the Department for Education, sent out to schools this week, includes words the Government insists are commonly misspelt by youngsters, such as accommodation, business, knowledge and necessary. Guidance issued with the list also urges teachers of all subjects to declare war on shoddy spelling.

English teachers are told they should teach their pupils to spell alliteration and onomatopoeia and maths teachers will be expected to teach children how to spell symmetrical and perpendicular. PE teachers, too, are told they must teach youngsters to spell quadriceps and hamstring.

But secondary school teachers said yesterday they felt "insulted" by the list and also questioned some of the words on it. Trevor Millum, director of the National Association of Teachers of English (Nate), said: "You can't tell teachers one day that you value their professionalism and then, say, 'Oh, by the way, we think you ought to teach your pupils how to spell'. There is a danger of too much prescription here. English is considered a shortage area and this is not going to do much for recruitment and retention."

He added: "Also, I would question some of the words on the list. I consider myself a good speller but I don't think I would be able to spell onomatopoeia. On the few occasions I use it, I would look it up."

Bethan Marshall, assistant secretary of Nate, said: "Most teachers will think, 'Who are these people who drew up this list ­ don't they think I teach my pupils how to spell?' Most will completely ignore it and throw it in the bin and just pull it out when the Ofsted inspector comes round to their school."

John Dunford, general secretary of the Secondary Heads Association, said: "The Government has got to tread carefully with English because English teachers go into teaching to be creative. We're not going to attract any English teachers if we become too prescriptive about how the subject is taught."

The list has been sent out in preparation for the introduction of the Government's literacy strategy, which has been successful in primary schools, into secondary schools this September. The strategy suggested that English lessons should be taught in three sections, the first of which could be devoted to spelling.

A spokesman for the Department for Education said the list of words had been suggested by schools involved in a pilot scheme. He said that those schools had found the strategy to be "popular".

The spokesman said: "We would expect other schools to use the framework for teaching from September but none of this is compulsory. Each English department will of course decide for itself the extent to which it draws on this list."

The guidance tells teachers: "The list is not intended for blanket teaching because all pupils will know how to spell some of the words. However, it is recommended that pupils should be helped to learn those spellings about which they are uncertain."