THOSE who call for schools to teach more names of British kings and queens might reflect first on Canute.

Facing a tide of instantly-forgotten sound-bites, many young people do not know how the vote was won and what taxes pay for, let alone the date of Waterloo.

We should all, young and old, be learning about global developments and seeking a long-term view, asking why 200 individuals own more than 41 per cent of the world's people and how the world's health could be improved.

And why basic civic education (dare to call it "political"?) is so absent from our national - and nationalistic - curriculum.

JOHN NICHOLSON,

Chief Executive,

UK Public Health Association.