Making the grade: the UK,citizenship and human rights education

This article focuses on the new ‘Citizenship’ component of the National Curriculum in England and the National Priorities for Education in Scotland. It argues that the principal elements in these initiatives should have been incorporated into the education system some time ago in order to conform to the UK's international obligations. The international requirements will be examined with the citizenship elements being measured against these requirements. It will be concluded that even should the UK succeed in implementing the full citizenship agenda, compliance with the full range of international requirements is not guaranteed.