Book excerpt: Schools across the world are struggling to balance the statutory requirements of a national curriculum with their desire to provide the wide, engaging and exciting curriculum that they know children need. Concerns about standards often lead to a narrowing of the curriculum and many schools lack the confidence and approach to design that would enable them to resolve what seems like an impossible dilemma. In this authoritative yet engaging book, Brian Male and Mick Waters look at how schools can meet the requirements of a national curriculum and yet be flexible enough to meet the needs, interests and concerns of pupils, to be rooted in their lives and localities and to give scope for teachers to use their own creativity. The Secondary Curriculum Design Handbook is a practical guide to designing a curriculum that will engage children's interest, excite their imaginations and at the same time provide them with the knowledge, skills and understanding they need to live successfully in the 21st Century.