Philip Larkin and Wilfred Owen removed by GCSE exam board in 'diversity' drive

23 June 2022, 13:26

OCR, one of the three main exam boards, has removed works by Philip Larkin (pictured), John Keats, Thomas Hardy, and Wilfred Owen.
OCR, one of the three main exam boards, has removed works by Philip Larkin (pictured), John Keats, Thomas Hardy, and Wilfred Owen. Picture: Alamy

By Sophie Barnett

A GCSE exam board's decision to remove works by Wilfred Owen, Philip Larkin and John Keats in a "diversity drive" has been slammed as "cultural vandalism".

Listen to this article

Loading audio...

The OCR, one of the three main exam boards, has replaced some of the literature giants' work in favour of "exciting and diverse" poets, including disabled and LGBTQ+ voices.

Some poems by Hardy and Keats will remain, but there will be no poetry by Larkin, Seamus Heaney or Owen in its English literature syllabus from this September.

Thirty poems from last year's 45 will be retained, with the exam board replacing 15.

The new entries include 14 by "poets of colour", including six black women.

Read more: Together on canvas: William and Kate stun in their first official joint portrait

Read more: Woman and man charged with plotting to traffic child to harvest organs in UK

Education Secretary Nadhim Zahawi hit out on Thursday at the move by OCR, which is part of a wider reform of the exam board’s anthology.

He said he will be discussing the decision with OCR, one of the main examining bodies in the UK.

He wrote on Twitter: "Larkin and Owen are two of our finest poets. Removing their work from the curriculum is cultural vandalism.

Philip Larkin, one of Britain's best known modern poets who died aged 63
Philip Larkin, one of Britain's best known modern poets who died aged 63. Picture: Alamy

"Their work must be passed on to future generations - as it was to me. I will be speaking to the exam board to make this clear.

"As a teenager improving my grasp of the English language, Larkin’s poems taught me so much about my new home.

"We must not deny future students the chance to make a similarly powerful connection with a great British author, or miss out on the joy of knowing his work."

Read more: Heart-stopping moment hero coach leaps into pool after US swimmer faints underwater

The exam board described the new poems as “exciting and diverse”, adding: “Our anthology for GCSE English literature students will feature many poets that have never been on a GCSE syllabus before and represent diverse voices, from living poets of British-Somali, British-Guyanese and Ukrainian heritage to one of the first black women in 19th century America to publish a novel. Of the 15 poets whose work has been added, 14 are poets of colour. Six are black women, one is of South Asian heritage. Our new poets also include disabled and LGBTQ+ voices.”

It retains works by William Blake, Emily Brontë, Sylvia Plath and Carol Ann Duffy and adds the British-Jamaican poet Raymond Antrobus, 36, and Kaminsky, 45, a Ukrainian-American who is deaf.

Jill Duffy, OCR’s chief executive, told The Times: “This is an inspiring set of poems that demonstrates our ongoing commitment to greater diversity.”

Judith Palmer, director of the Poetry Society, said it was "fantastic" to see this new selection of poets.

However, Dr Tracy Hayes, of the Thomas Hardy Society, said she was "saddened" to hear of the removal of poems by Hardy and Owen.

She told The Times: "As a serving soldier who experienced atrocities first-hand his poems are crucial to the curriculum if students are to achieve any sense of history.

"Owen could also be seen as representing the LGBTQ+ voice in poetry, writing at a time when his sexuality was still punishable as a criminal offence."

More Latest News

See more More Latest News

Exclusive
Starmer has vowed to resurrect Boris Johnson's 'Levelling Up' policy

Failure to ‘level up’ Britain would be ‘catastrophic’, Wes Streeting admits, as Starmer vows to resurrect Johnson policy

Border Force staff will walk out from April 11

Hundreds of Border Force officers at Heathrow Airport to stage four-day strike

Stephen Bear was ordered to pay Ms Harrison £5,000.

Disgraced reality TV star Stephen Bear ordered to pay £27,000 over revenge porn conviction or face nine months in jail

Sam Bankman-Fried

FTX founder Bankman-Fried sentenced to 25 years in prison for crypto fraud

Exclusive
Covid no excuse for death of Finley Boden who was murdered by drug-addled parents, child protection chief says

Covid no excuse for death of Finley Boden who was murdered by drug-addled parents, child protection chief says

Israel Palestinians UN Security Council

Russia ‘abolishes’ monitoring of sanctions on North Korea with UN veto

France Valentino

Former Gucci designer Alessandro Michele named Valentino creative director

Know your limits this summer, Brits have been warned

‘Know your limits’: Brits heading to the Euros this summer warned against drinking ‘too much German beer’

Russia Shooting

Russia arrests another suspect in concert hall attack that killed 143

Sam Bankman-Fried has been jailed for 25 years for a $8bn crypto fraud

'Crypto King' Sam Bankman-Fried jailed for 25 years for stealing billions of dollars from his customers

Michael Gove has been urged to 'get on with' passing the rental reforms

Ministers accused of making 'major concessions to landlords' after renters reforms 'watered down'

Supermarket opening times for Easter 2024: Trading hour revealed for Sainsbury's, Asda, Tesco, Morrisons and Aldi

Supermarket opening times for Easter 2024: Trading hours revealed for Sainsbury's, Asda, Tesco, Morrisons and Aldi

It is believed the litter picking tool was mistaken for a firearm, Northumbria Police said

Schools locked down by police after litter picker mistaken for firearm

Lewes prison

Medical incident declared at Lewes prison after several inmates hospitalised with food poisoning

Sandro Tonali

Newcastle United star charged with breaching FA gambling rules 50 times

The protesters staged a bike collision to gain entrance into the department

Pro-Palestine protestors chant 'from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free' as they occupy British Ministry