The Shadow Education Secretary, Theresa May, has critised the proposed revisions to the history curriculum for 5 to 14 year olds, claiming that the changes will remove the studying of the kings, queens and battles which have "made the country what it is today".

"It shows that under Labour, even history is history," said Ms May, attacking the latest changes in the National Curriculum for England, due to be introduced in classrooms from September 2000.

Theresa May says the changes mean "even history is history"

But the claims have been strongly rejected by the government and the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority, which say that the changes will give history teachers greater flexibility over how they teach their subject.

The School Standards Minister, Estelle Morris, said that the Conservatives' accusations were "misleading".

"It is sheer nonsense to say that every king, queen, hero, battle and historical date will be eliminated from the National Curriculum," said the minister.

"Pupils will learn about the reasons for and the results of historical events and situations. It will also be compulsory for pupils to develop a chronological understanding of the events, people and changes in the appropriate period of history."

"The basics will all still be there," said a government spokeswoman. There will still be a requirement to study "important persons, including monarchs", and pupils will be expected to know important dates and the causes and consequences of key events.

But the revised curriculum will allow teachers greater independence over how they illustrate periods in history - which or might not include reference to kings, queens and famous battles.

The revised curriculum will set out the broad historical areas that need to be covered and will provide examples of how they might be taught - such as looking at the life of Henry VIII as part of studying the 16th century. But these will only be suggestions, rather than statutory requirements.

The changes are being made as part of a wider effort to 'slim down' the National Curriculum, which has been seen as being over-prescriptive and limiting teachers in how they approach their subjects.