Reform UK has unveiled education policies requiring every school to display the King's portrait and the union flag, alongside introducing 'patriotic' history lessons. The party announced the proposals ahead of St George's Day, stating they aim to restore 'national pride' in the curriculum.
The party criticised the current approach to history, claiming it is taught through 'a progressive lens'. If they form a government, Reform UK pledged to implement a new curriculum within 100 days, focusing on a 'patriotic history of the British Isles' and avoiding 'modern narratives'.
Reform wants pupils in England to cover events such as the Magna Carta, the Wars of the Roses, the English Civil War, the Glorious Revolution, the Act of Union, the Enlightenment, and Victorian Britain. These topics are already covered in GCSE history by exam boards across England. British history would form at least 60 per cent of assessed content, with the Education Secretary given powers to intervene if this is not followed.
Suella Braverman, Reform UK's would-be education secretary, said: 'Tory and Labour governments have failed a generation of young people with a substandard curriculum that undermines academic rigour and national identity in favour of promoting their mass migration agenda. Reform will end this. As education secretary I will introduce a new curriculum that will rekindle national pride and ensure that every child leaves school with an understanding of what a privilege it is to be British.'
The party also indicated that every school must fly the union flag, honour St George's Day in England, and display a visible portrait of King Charles in a communal space. Funding would be provided for Scottish and Welsh schools to fly the union flag alongside their national flags, though education is a devolved area. Reform claimed that in 2024, every state-funded school was offered a portrait of the King but only 34 per cent accepted.
