FEWER than one in three teenagers took a GCSE in history last year, official figures reveal.
Last summer, just 202,482 pupils were entered for the subject, meaning 451,410 children were not entered.
The figures, revealed in a Freedom of Information request to the Department for Children, Schools and Families, show the proportion of children taking history is falling.
In 1997, 35.4% of the cohort took the subject, compared with 31% last year, although there were fewer children in the year group in 1997.
Shadow schools secretary Michael Gove said: “The number of children studying history beyond 14 has fallen to less than one pupil in three.
“The Government’s league tables encourage schools to push pupils away from harder subjects, even if they are of more long-term value.”
