A-Level English students have a new text to study alongside the classic works by literary greats – Manchester's tram timetable.
The Metrolink timetable has been included in a reading list for sixth form students on an English Literature and Language course run by one of the country's biggest exam boards, sparking outrage from education campaigners.
Thousands of students ac
ross the country are analysing times for trams on the Altrincham and Eccles lines, bullet-points on how to buy a ticket from machines and what season tickets are available.
Other essential reading for the Assessment and Qualifications Alliance (AQA) exam board includes pieces by Samuel Johnson and Charles Dickens.
In the AS level exam, which counts towards final A-level grades, Students could be asked to compare the language used on the timetable with another transport-themed text.
The Assessment and Qualifications Alliance exam board included the GMPTE timetable in their new September 2008 anthology alongside 29 other texts.
Nick Seaton, chairman of the Campaign for Real Education, said: "A-level students should not be studying public transport leaflets.
"It's nonsense – I don't see how anyone can assume a tram timetable is literature," he said. Youngsters need to gain an understanding of some of the great works.
"A timetable may be suitable for young students who have only a basic grasp of the English language but not for 16 and 17-year-olds.
"How reading texts that explain 'tickets are only valid on the day of travel' is worthwhile is beyond me."
A spokesman for the exam board, AQA, defended the decision to include the timetable in the anthology for the A-level module.
He said: "The purpose of the unit is to allow candidates to study a range of thematically-linked spoken and written texts.
"Candidates study a variety of texts, with different purposes and written at different times. The texts cover the three major literary genres and a range of non-literary texts. The tram guide is just one of the non-literary texts.
"Candidates are required to consider the development of language and style over time and have to comment on significant features of the writer's or speaker's use of language."
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