English Exam Board Doubles Choice Of Books By Writers Of Colour

One of the UK’s top examination boards, OCR, has announced that it will provide pupils taking English literature A-level and GCSE with opportunities to study more books by writers of colour. This move has been made to increase diversity in the curriculum and will include the 2019 Booker prize-winning novel, Girl, Woman, Other, by Bernardine Evaristo. 28% of texts available for study for OCR’s GCSE and A-level courses from next September will be by writers of colour, up from the previous 13%. The majority of writers will be women. OCR has added five novels, a new play, and new poems for its anthology at GCSE to improve diversity.

The Runnymede Trust and Penguin Random House UK launched the Lit in Colour campaign to report on the curriculum in schools in England, which was criticised for not being sufficiently inclusive and needing to adapt to better reflect contemporary society. The report found that fewer than 1% of English literature students study a book by a writer of colour at GCSE despite 34% of school students in England being black, Asian, or from a minority ethnic background.

Evaristo welcomed the development, stating that her work will be taught in schools alongside other relevant books that broaden our understanding of the role of literature in contemporary society. Besides Girl, Woman, Other, the new OCR A-level list of novels will include Nella Larsen’s seminal 1929 novella Passing, the visionary science fiction novel Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler, The Lonely Londoners by Trinidadian author Sam Selvon, and Daphne du Maurier’s 1938 gothic masterpiece Rebecca. Students studying GCSEs will be given the opportunity to study Leave Taking by leading black British playwright Winsome Pinnock, along with an updated selection of poems by a range of writers of colour, which will be added to the existing list of set texts.

OCR made the final selection after teachers voted on which books to add to the curriculum, from lists drawn up by a panel of experts to showcase more women, black, and minority-ethnic writers. OCR’s chief executive, Jill Duffy, stated that the quality of these diverse works would not only support students in developing their skills, knowledge, and understanding of English literature, but would also provide opportunities to engage with work that is more relevant to their lives. The OCR exam board is also working on improving diversity in other subject areas such as history, religious studies, and media studies courses where they have added topics on migration and African kingdoms.

To sum up, the OCR exam board has taken significant steps to provide English literature A-level and GCSE students with opportunities to study more books by writers of colour, thereby increasing diversity in the curriculum. This development comes following criticism that the curriculum does not adequately represent modern society. OCR’s selection includes five new novels, a play, and a range of poems by a variety of writers of colour. The selection process involved input from experts to showcase women, black, and minority-ethnic writers. OCR’s chief executive is confident that these diverse works will provide students with opportunities for personal growth and a better understanding of the world.

In 1993, Octavia Butler was awarded multiple honors for her novel Parable of the Sower. The book presents a grim outlook on the future, characterized by social inequality and climate change. The story unfolds through the perspective of the novel’s protagonist, a young African American named Lauren Oya Olamina, who establishes a new ideology called Earthseed.

Leave Taking, Winsome Pinnock’s 1987 play, explores the clash between generations through the story of Enid, a Jamaican mother who emigrates to England in search of opportunities for her children. The play showcases the harsh realities of life for black Britons and portrays the conflicts and challenges that arise between Enid and her UK-born daughters during their formative teenage years. Pinnock’s play was a pioneering work in the portrayal of black British experiences.