English teachers complain the curriculum is too restrictive

After a poll, plays set for 13 and 14-year-olds in England could include Romeo and Juliet and As You Like It.

Othello did not make the list because more than half of those questioned said the themes of sexual jealousy and racism were not suitable for that age.

Teachers say the exam system impedes the enjoyment of Shakespeare anyway.

A survey of attitudes to Shakespeare's plays among teachers and other experts was commissioned by England's curriculum and exams body the QCA.

% RATING SUITABLE/VERY SUITABLE Romeo and Juliet - 91% Othello - 43% Henry IV Part I - 32% Taming of the Shrew - 61% Julius Caesar - 62% Midsummer Night's Dream - 90% As You Like It - 61%

There is a rolling curriculum for Shakespeare, which for this year involves Much Ado About Nothing, Richard III and The Tempest.

The QCA canvassed teachers and local authority advisers on what they thought about particular plays and their suitability for teaching to children in Key Stage 3.

Children in state schools generally do not study Shakespeare until they are 13 or 14, in Year 9.

In the survey, people were asked to rate seven Shakespeare plays on their suitability for this age group.

Top of the list came Romeo and Juliet, with 91% saying the play was suitable or very suitable.

Many said the themes of young love and family made the play very accessible for pupils.

Sexual jealousy

The idea of including Othello prompted the most objections - with 55% saying it was not suitable.

Many teachers said the play should be kept for A-level study and that the themes were "too mature and sensitive for this age group".

The report said: "Many stated that the topic of racism was not appropriate for Key Stage 3 study and the theme of sexual jealousy was widely felt to be beyond the experience of Year 9 children."

Those who supported the inclusion of Othello said the play's strong themes of love, jealousy, cultural stereo-typing and the treatment of minorities in society would engage pupils.

There was little support for the idea of 13 and 14-year-olds studying Henry IV Part I. Some 66% said it was not suitable and just 6% that it was "very suitable".

Critics said the historical context and a lack of action made the play boring and inaccessible for many pupils.

'Teaching to the test'

Contributors were also asked to suggest plays which were not listed. Macbeth - a tale of ambition and murder - was the most popular.

The QCA has announced that as a result of the consultation, plays said to be suitable for setting will include Romeo and Juliet, A Midsummer Night's Dream, As You Like It and Julius Caesar.

Ian McNeilly, director of the National Association for the Teaching of English, said he could understand the teachers' favourite choices. Romeo and Juliet, Macbeth and Julius Caesar were all great plays, he said.

And while the race theme in Othello might be appropriate for the age group, the theme of sexual jealousy might not be.

But the real question was not so much the choice of plays on offer but the way some teachers were driven to teach them.

They were being forced to "teach to the test", with children often studying just a few scenes instead of getting to enjoy and appreciate a whole play. Plays were not being studying in context, he said.

"We are less concerned with which plays are taught than with the methods of the assessment process that some teachers are in thrall to," he said.

Last autumn, The Royal Shakespeare Company complained "boring lessons" were putting pupils off Shakespeare for life.