Schools should do more to foster a sense of Britishness in young people, a report warned Thursday, amid growing debate over the threat of a break-up of the United Kingdom.

The study adds that citizenship lessons for British pupils, compulsory between the ages of 11 and 16, need to focus on helping both white pupils and those from ethnic minorities to build a sense of national identity.

This will be done by teaching the history of the Commonwealth, British empire and devolution and encouraging debate, not by conveying a fixed definition of Britishness, Education Secretary Alan Johnson said.

The question of national identity was thrust into the spotlight last week when a row over alleged racism towards Bollywood actress Shilpa Shetty erupted on reality television show "Celebrity Big Brother".

The furore prompted Johnson to say that schools should focus on teaching "the core British values of justice and tolerance".

That, combined with the 300th anniversary earlier this month of the union between England and Scotland, has made Britons think again about whether there is such a thing as a national identity at all.

Although finance minister and likely next prime minister Gordon Brown has warned against the "Balkanisation of Britain", one recent poll claimed that just 44 percent of people in the UK considered themselves British first and foremost and highlighted a growing sense of English nationalism.