Too much WW1 and too white, at that

British school children are being turned off World War 1 because of the "barrage" of TV programmes devoted to the conflict, according to academics.

The sheer scale of attention given to the Great War during the centenary of its outbreak risked leaving pupils feeling bored, said a study by researchers from Exeter and Northumbria universities.

They also raised concerns that too many lessons on the subjects were dominated by a narrow range of "white, middle-class" war poets.

The comments come amid continuing debate over the way World War 1 should be remembered. Earlier, Education Minister Michael Gove said the war was not taught properly in many schools and TV programmes such as Blackadder presented it as a futile and "misbegotten shambles".