Welsh colleges informed to cease finding out Of Mice and Men at GCSE as a result of it’s ‘psychologically and emotionally dangerous for black kids’

The classic novel Of Mice and Men has been dropped off the Welsh GCSE curriculum after it was deemed ’emotionally harmful for black children’ by anti-racism officials.

John Steinbeck’s book is set during the Great Depression and follows the friendship of Lennie and George as they try to find work.

But due to some characters using the N-word it will now no longer be read in schools in Wales.

In its place will come a ‘wide range’ of ‘appropriate and inclusive texts’ for students from writers of many ‘different genders’.

Wales Children’s Commissioner Rocio Cifuentes is backing the removal as she says there are ‘alternative texts available’ that are ‘less harmful’.

The news comes as exam board WJEC has employed an anti-racism consultant to deliver their verdict on which books are appropriate.

And the call has also been made despite concerns the book banning is counterproductive, though Ms Cifuentes insists the decision is not emblematic of censorship.

The children’s commissioner, who began her £95,000-a-year role in 2022 and will serve a seven-year-term in the post, said she welcomed ‘opportunities for positive, constructive, informed discussions on race and racism’.

She said while researching racism in school she noted many black children ‘specifically mentioned this text and the harm that it caused them’.

Ms Cifuentes added: ‘It’s not censorship. This is safeguarding the wellbeing of children who have told us how awful those discussions have made them feel in those classrooms.

‘They’ve very often been the only black child in that classroom when discussions all around them are focusing on very derogatory, negative depictions of black people.’

Meanwhile, English teacher Rhian Evans said the book ‘would be missed’ as it allowed discussion for ‘how we treat each other in general in our societies’.

But she acknowledged she is ‘a white woman’ and so couldn’t fully understand how black children feel.

And the teacher then added there are authors ‘who come from all sorts of backgrounds and who would perhaps also introduce the same kind of themes, but in a more relevant and a more modern way to pupils of today’.

WJEC, which has also said it is merging English language and literature into one GCSE, commented that employment of the ‘anti-racism consultant’ was undertaken ‘to help us ensure our qualifications reflect a modern and inclusive Wales’ and insisted it had consulted with a broad range of organisations.

It said: ‘We have provided a choice of work from writers of diverse backgrounds, nationalities, genders, and communities.

‘We believe this new selection will enrich the educational experience by providing a choice of texts that explore themes that will resonate with learners.’

Natasha Asghar MS, the Shadow Education Secretary, has spoken out against the decision arguing that banning the book is counterproductive and limits educational opportunities.

She said: ‘Instead of banning Of Mice and Men, we should teach it within its historical context, showing students how overt racism and sexism was commonplace and accepted in the past and why this was harmful and wrong.

‘Censorship doesn’t solve the problem; it prevents young people from confronting and understanding these prejudices some of which, sadly continue.

‘Sadly, even in 2024 we continue to see racism and sexism in society. If we want to tackle this then instead of banning a classic text, we would do better to challenge media companies that produce music containing misogynistic language and words with racism connotations.’

The book was dropped from GCSEs in England in 2014 when then-Education Secretary Michael Gove called for more works by British authors to be studied.

However, it is still taught and features as part of curriculums in some schools.

It was enjoyed by Prince Harry during his time at Eton, having once been a key part of the English GCSE curriculum.

In 2021, anti-racist educators urged teachers not to say the N-word when reading Of Mice and Men in class as well as Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird.

More than 100 academics, campaigners and parents signed a letter challenging the use as they said it ‘adds nothing to the lesson’.

It followed reports of pupils at two Teesside schools challenging the use of the word during lessons on the two books.

The young pupils, both of African heritage, spoke out to their teachers saying the word was racist.

Of Mice and Men features a character named Crooks, a black stable-hand who befriends Lennie.

A relatable character, he is often regarded as Steinbeck’s attempt to highlight discrimination in 1930s America.

The book contains racial slurs and disparaging references to Crooks’ skin colour from other characters and so has faced regular criticism for its use of language. It even featured on the American Library Association’s list of the Most Challenged Books of the 21st Century.

Also in 2021, a top school in Edinburgh – the James Gillespie high school – said it no longer wanted to teach the classic due to its ‘dated’ approach to race.

Instead, classes were more likely to focus on works such as Angie Thomas’ award-winning book, The Hate U Give, written in response to the 2009 police shooting of Oscar Grant.

And last year a Belfast student called for the book to be removed from an English Literature GCSE course as it made her ‘uncomfortable’.