Children's author Philip Pullman met Education Secretary Charles Clarke to discuss Mr Pullman's concerns about the teaching of English in schools.

Philip Pullman

Mr Pullman, who lives in Cumnor, was invited to discuss his ideas with Mr Clarke after he criticised the national literary strategy at a reception at 10 Downing Street for writers and publishers of children's books.

Authors Mr Pullman, Bernard Ashley, and Chris Powling -- all former teachers -- tackled Mr Clarke over what they perceived as the Government's obsession with testing pupils.

Mr Pullman, who has since met the Education Secretary twice, said the way that English was taught did not fire children's imaginations and stifled creativity.

He said teaching was geared towards flawed exercises based on short passages, rather than children being allowed to read books from cover to cover.

He added: "We should not ask children to do things that are intrinsically not worth doing.

"I would hate to be a teacher in the present system. It doesn't give you any scope."

Charles Clarke

He said children should be allowed to write stories and poems, rather than describing a poem's meaning by ringing multiple choice options.

He criticised controversial SATs tests, which have also come under fire from the National Union of Teachers, but said it was too soon to tell if Mr Clarke would change his mind.

He said: "It's Charles Clarke's job to be interested in this sort of thing.

"But it's too soon to tell if it's going to make any difference."

Last month, Mr Pullman criticised the school system, saying teachers and pupils operated in a climate of fear. He said the regime of continuous assessment and inspection hindered effective teaching.

Mr Pullman, author of the trilogy His Dark Materials, taught at three schools in Oxford before becoming an education lecturer at Westminster College, Oxford.

The third book in the trilogy, The Amber Spyglass, became the first children's novel to win the Whitbread Prize in 2001.

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