Harry Potter has taken his place alongside such greats of English literature as Shakespeare's Hamlet and Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre and is required reading for A-level English students.

J.K. Rowling's boy-wizard has been added to the syllabus in a move that has prompted fresh claims of "dumbing down" in education standards.

Harry Potter And The Philosopher's Stone is being offered as a 'set text' by the Assessment and Qualifications Alliance (AQA), the UK's largest exam board, which is responsible for nearly half of the country's exams.

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But horrified education experts fear Harry will rob the A-level of credibility.

Professor Alan Smithers, a special adviser to the House of Commons Education and Skills Committee, said:

"The point of English literature is to provide works that have stood the test of time and that allow people to understand their place in the world as others have understood it.

"I don't think Harry Potter is appropriate as a set text; I don't see how it fits in with that. It may be an enjoyable read but I don't think we are just trying to keep people occupied."

Nick Seaton, chairman of the Campaign for Real Education, added: "This is all done in the name of relevance and popular culture, but it is not why children go to school.

"They should be encouraged to read and understand the great works of English literature. Harry Potter may be what children want to read, but that doesn't mean it should be part of an A-level."

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