GCSE pupils to study Charlotte Church

School pupils are to study the words of Charlotte Church as part of their GCSE English course.

They will analyse the speech of the singer and other celebrities, including Gavin and Stacey actress Ruth Jones and TV newsreader Huw Edwards, reports The Sun.

Education chiefs hope studying the words Charlotte, 24, says and the way she puts them across will get pupils more interested in the subject.

The modern language spoken element of the exam is being introduced by Welsh examining board OCR Cymru.

OCR Cymru national manager Robin Hughes said: "It is a way of engaging pupils by identifying with personalities they know, rather than dusty ones of the past.

"Pupils will look at the structure of speech, how these personalities interact with their audience and their use of timing and language."

But Nick Seaton, of the Campaign for Real Education, said it "distracted" from the business of teaching kids properly.

"I don't think many parents would think Charlotte Church is a good role model for young people," he said.

The Plain English Campaign's Marie Clair warned: "It is worrying when educationalists have to re-invent ways to get people to learn basic skills."