Reform UK unveils plans for Union flags and ‘patriotic’ history lessons in schools
Reform UK has announced a range of education policies, including “patriotic” history lessons, as well as the compulsory display of the King’s portrait and the Union flag in every school.
Announcing its proposals ahead of St. George’s Day, the party said these measures aimed to revive “national pride” in the curriculum.
They criticized the current approach to history and described history as being taught from a “progressive perspective”.
Reform UK has promised to implement a new curriculum within the first 100 days if they form a government. They argued that the subject matter should reflect the “patriotic history of the British Isles” and avoid being framed by “modern narratives”.
The Reformation calls for students in England to consider events such as Magna Carta, the Wars of the Roses, the English Civil War, the Glorious Revolution, the Acts of Union, the Enlightenment, and Victorian Britain.
These are all subjects that fall within time periods already covered in GCSE history by exam boards across England.
The party said British history would make up at least 60 per cent of the subject’s considered content and the Education Secretary would be given the power to intervene “if this is not complied with”.
Reform Suella Braverman, the UK’s incoming education secretary, said: “The Tory and Labor governments have failed a generation of young people with a substandard curriculum that undermines academic rigor and national identity in the name of promoting mass immigration agendas.
“Reform will put an end to this. As education secretary I will introduce a new curriculum that will reignite national pride and ensure every child leaves school understanding how privileged it is to be British.”
The party also said every school should fly the Union flag, celebrate St George’s Day in England and display a visible portrait of King Charles in the common area.
They also said funding would be provided for Scottish and Welsh schools to fly the Union flag alongside their national flags, but acknowledged that education was a devolved area of government.
They claimed that every state-funded school in the country was offered a portrait of the King in 2024, but only 34 per cent accepted the offer.
