As reported by the Guardian, Bernardine Evaristo has called for renewed action to diversify the school curriculum in England, warning that young people are growing up in a society where inclusion is under threat.
A new report from the campaign group Lit in Colour shows that while the range of GCSE English literature set texts by authors of colour has increased over the past five years, very few pupils are actually studying them.
Since the campaign began, the share of set texts by authors of colour has risen from 12% to 36%. Despite this progress, only 1.9% of GCSE pupils in England currently study one of these works, up from 0.7% five years ago.
The report warns that change is moving too slowly. At the current rate, it estimates it will be 2046 before 10% of students answer a GCSE literature question on a text by an author of colour.
It also highlights a wider disparity between classrooms and school demographics. Based on present trends, the report predicts it will not be until 2115 that 38% of GCSE pupils study a writer of colour, matching the proportion of pupils in England’s schools from minority ethnic backgrounds.
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