The government is considering plans to train secondary school students in “core British values”.

Ministers want training in cultural awareness to add to the citizenship classes currently run in state schools.

Critics say such a programme is too vague and that extremism cannot be stopped through education.

The six month-long review will consider how to promote a sense of British identity by learning about the nation’s culture and traditions.

Education minister Bill Rammell outlined the areas in which training was required.

“There is a need for a debate and the essential values already taught in citizenship classes, like freedom, fairness, civil responsibilities, democracy are there.

“But they are not developed and understood in the way they developed in terms of Britain’s cultural and social history,” he said.

This has been criticised by Labour MEP Claude Moraes, who wrote a report for the EU on citizenship and integration. He said it was difficult to define “core British values”.