From the Daily Telegraph :

”A Shakespeare test that requires no knowledge of the playwright’s texts is being reviewed after complaints from teachers, exam officials said yesterday.

Pupils could pass the key Stage Three paper, sat by 14-year-olds, without reading any Shakespeare as it asks questions relating to “themes” rather than demanding specific understanding of his plays.

One question on Henry V states that the king was regarded as a hero and asks candidates to write about “people you admire”.

Another refers to the importance of appearance in Twelfth Night and asks pupils: “How important is what you wear? Write your views as if contributing to a piece in a teenage magazine.”

I wonder what the Derb has to say about this.