Trendies Who Betrayed Our Pupils, by Charles; PRINCE ATTACKS TEACHING METHODS THAT IGNORED BASIC SKILLS

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Byline: TONY HALPIN

THE Prince of Wales launched a blistering attack yesterday on the legacy of decades of trendy teaching.

Generations of children had been sold short by a failure to teach the three Rs properly, creating a 'moral and cultural void' which threatened civilised society, he said.

'There can be no doubt about the importance to our children of the basic skills of reading, writing, and numeracy,' Charles told a gathering of business executives from companies working in partnership with schools as part of his Business in the Community organisation.

'If these things are not taught to children in the most effective way - and we have seen a …