ABSTRACT
In 1987, a Committee of Inquiry into the Teaching of the English Language was announced by the Secretary of state for Education, Kenneth Baker. It was commissioned as part of a wider government initiative to construct a national curriculum for schools. However, the Committee, chaired by a mathematician, John Kingman, had a more specific, preliminary role. In announcing the committee, Mr Baker said:
I am working towards national agreement on the aims and objectives of English teaching in schools in order to improve standards. But I have been struck by a particular gap. Pupils need to know about the workings of the English language if they are to use it effectively. Most schools no longer teach old fashioned grammar. But little has been put in its place. There is no common ground on teaching about the structure and workings of language, about the way it is used to convey meaning and achieve other effects. We need to equip teachers with a proper model of the language to help improve their teaching.
(DES Press Notice, 16 January 1987, our stress) The Kingman brief was to recommend a model of the English language, knowledge of which would form one element of the English subject curriculum whilst also informing programmes of teacher training.