Bernardine Evaristo renews her call to diversify the curriculum in England | Schools

Booker Prize-winning author Bernardine Evaristo has called for renewed efforts to diversify school curricula in England, warning that young people are growing up in a society where “doors are closed” and where the tide is turning against inclusion.

There has been progress in the diversity of texts offered in GCSE English literature curricula, but uptake in schools remains low, with only 1.9% of GCSE pupils in England studying books by authors of color, compared to 0.7% five years ago, according to a report.

The report, by campaign group Lit in Colour, says progress is too slow and that at the current pace of change, it will be 2046 before 10% of students answer a question about a text by a colored author in GCSE English Literature.

It will take until 2115 before 38% of pupils study a writer of color in English literature at GCSE, a significant figure because according to the latest Department for Education (DfE) figures, 38% of pupils in English schools are from an ethnic minority background.

Since Lit in Color launched its campaign to improve diversity in school curricula in England five years ago, the proportion of GCSE English literature texts by authors of color has increased from 12% to 36%.

In 2025, there were eight texts by authors of color in the examination board’s selected text lists, most of them from black and South Asian heritage, but many teachers continue to offer texts such as JB Priestley’s An Inspector Calls, due to familiarity, a lack of resources to support the teaching of new texts and insufficient time for practice.

In the introduction to the campaign’s five-year progress report, Evaristo welcomed the progress made but said that with the concept of diversity under attack, it has become increasingly important to ensure books by writers of color are included in school curricula.

Following the killing of George Floyd in the US and the resurgence of the Black Lives Matter movement in the UK, Evaristo said: “There has been a notable willingness from many institutions to explore some of the barriers that people of color have had to face, including in the education sector.”

She said: “Fast forward to 2025, and it seems as if these doors will close again, and I worry that young people today are once again growing up in a society where attempts to achieve greater equality are threatened, as the tide turns against inclusion.

“The term ‘diversity’ itself is now considered a dangerous concept in some quarters, with all attempts at transitioning to a more progressive society dismissed as ‘woke’. In this climate, the Lit in Color campaign is even more important to ensure books by authors of color are included in school curricula.”

Lit in Colour, led by Penguin Random House and the Runnymede Trust think tank on race equality and race relations, is a partnership between educational and cultural organizations and the four exam boards in England.

A Department for Education spokesperson said: “As part of the government’s response to the curriculum and assessment review, we will ensure that alongside classic English literature, the curriculum will allow space for teachers to choose a wider range of texts and authors.”

Meanwhile, Lee Child, bestselling author of the Jack Reacher thriller series, has been named the first Prison Reading winner. The role, which covers prisons in England and Wales, was created to highlight the importance of improving literacy among prisoners to help prevent reoffending.

Child plans to expand a pilot literacy program he has been running in a number of prisons and will invite more authors to participate.

“It’s not about being soft on crime, it’s about being smart,” he said. “Improving literacy is a practical, evidence-based approach. When people leave prison better equipped to read and learn, they are less likely to reoffend. This makes communities safer for everyone.”

The new one-year role was created as part of the National Year of Reading, a UK-wide campaign to promote reading among children and adults.