ABSTRACT
The increasing importance of national testing, and the accompanying high-stakes accountability culture, encouraged – some might say forced – teachers to focus on examination specifications. However, the inherent commitment and professionalism of teachers has meant that very few focused solely on the demands of the tests. Teachers have always been able to adapt the National Curriculum programmes of study to suit the needs of their pupils; they have been able to select, emphasise and, sometimes, disregard the suggested skills and topics. They have been able to spend more time on the topics they consider to be of most use and value to pupils, and less on those that seem to have little relevance. A school curriculum is much more than a list of skills and topics, and all good teachers go well beyond National Curriculum programmes of study or examination specifications in their teaching.
