Doom, gloom and GCSE English | Letter

The set books for English literature GCSE make grim reading, says Rachel Stott

Hollie McNish makes a strong point about the content of the current GCSE English literature syllabus (‘Bold, brilliant, thrilling’: leading authors on the novels every school should teach, 5 September). During the Covid pandemic, friends of mine described the challenge of cheering their teenage daughter through GCSEs at that difficult time. Her set books were Macbeth, The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde and first world war poetry. A couple of years later I asked my niece which books she was reading for GCSE. She said: Macbeth, The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde and first world war poetry. Is this corpse-rich literary diet really the healthiest we can offer our notoriously anxious and doom-laden youth?

In her introduction to the article, Kate Mosse outlines clearly the challenges for schools and for the Department for Education in revising the syllabus. Here’s a radical suggestion: bury the corpse of English literature GCSE and teach literature only for pleasure up to age 16.
Rachel Stott
London

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