Interview with John MacGregor, 3 November 2009

Lord MacGregor of Pulham Market was Secretary of State for Education and Science from July 1989 until Nov. 1990. During this brief period, he was the minister responsible for ensuring that the various working parties set up to prepare the new National Curriculum produced workable - and acceptable - proposals. Mrs Thatcher was known to be dissatisfied with the Interim Report produced by the History Working Group. John MacGregor discusses his relationship with the HWG and the civil servants in the Department as the process of consultation and production of the Final Report took place in the midst of intense press interest. The key concerns were over the amount of British history and the importance of knowledge in the curriculum. Interviewed by Nicola Sheldon.