Classics of American literature, including Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird and John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men, have been dropped from the English literature GCSE syllabus following demands reportedly made by Michael Gove.
The Education Secretary said students ought to focus on works by British writers such as Jane Austen and Shakespeare, The Sunday Times reported.
OCR, one the UK’s biggest exam boards, told the newspaper: “Of Mice and Men, which Michael Gove really dislikes, will not be included. It was studied by 90 per cent of teenagers taking English literature GCSE in the past.
“Michael Gove said that was a really disappointing statistic. In the new syllabus 70-80 per cent of the books are from the English canon.”
But the reform has been criticised by academics, who have said it will deter students from pursuing the subject.
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