School leavers could be asked to swear oaths of allegiance and Britain given a new public holiday to bolster people's sense of national pride, according to suggestions in a long-awaited review of citizenship.

A paper by former Attorney General Lord Goldsmith suggested that a British national day should be set aside for celebrations and become part of the calendar by 2012 - the year London is due to hold the Olympic Games.

His review also proposes that teenagers could be asked to join in ceremonies akin to those devised for new immigrants as they were about to leave school, during which they would be asked to pledge their support to Queen and country.

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The peer, who has been researching citizenship for months, insisted such measures were needed because Britain has become a divided country with no sense of belonging.

But critics immediately rounded on the plans, claiming they were an affront to democracy and would do little to change attitudes.

John Dunford, from the Association of School and College Leaders, said asking pupils to swear an oath was a "half-baked idea that should be left to go mouldy".

He dubbed it an "un-British idea imported from America" and claimed it did not fit with schools' existing ethos and culture because they already had their own rituatls and traditional ceremonies.

Meanwhile, Labour peer Baroness Kennedy claimed the plan was based on a total misconception about the whole idea of respecting one's country and feeling a sense of national pride.

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