Diversity in Literature 2020 virtual event
Our free online virtual event, Diversity in Literature, took place on the 9 July 2020.
If you missed it, or you want to share it with your colleagues you can catch up online.
Katy Lewis, Head of English, Drama and Modern Foreign Languages at Pearson Edexcel was joined by Benjamin Zephaniah who discussed his own experiences as a reader and writer, his book Refugee Boy and poem We Refugees and a special performance of his poem, Dis Poetry.
Later we were joined by Lauren Binks, KS5 coordinator for English and Film Studies at Townley Grammar School, sharing how she and her school have worked to decolonize the curriculum with aim of becoming an anti-racist school.
There were other talks and information from Julie Hughes, Malika Sahonta and students from Bristol Free School.
Recognising the importance of diversity
In response to student and teacher feedback around the lack of diversity of British texts at KS4, we are delighted to announce the addition of two new novels, two new plays and a new poetry collection to our Pearson Edexcel GCSE (9-1) English Literature text list.
We want to ensure that students are being exposed to literature from a variety of British authors, from different backgrounds, and are reading about contemporary issues that they can engage with and relate to.
| Time | Speaker | Session |
|---|---|---|
| 01:58 | Students and staff from Bristol Free School | What does diversity mean and why is it important? |
| 06:48 | Katy Lewis, Head of English, Drama and Modern Foreign Languages at Pearson Edexcel | Overview of current state of diversity within the English curriculum and the research and feedback Pearson carried out in the lead up to our 2019 additions to the Pearson Edexcel GCSE (9-1) English Literature specification. |
| 16:44 | Professor Benjamin Zephaniah | Benjamin discuses his own experiences as a reader and writer, his book Refugee Boy and poem We Refugees and a special performance of his poem, Dis Poetry. |
| 58:04 | Julie Hughes, teacher and English specialist | Julie gives an overview of the 2019 texts added to the Pearson Edexcel GCSE (9-1) English Literature specification: Coram Boy, The Empress, Boys Don’t Cry, Refugee Boy and our poetry collection, Belonging. |
| 01:20:01 | Lauren Binks, KS5 coordinator for English and Film Studies at Townley Grammar School | Join Lauren as she sharing how she and her school have worked to decolonize the curriculum with aim of becoming an anti-racist school. |
| 01:39:39 | Julie Hughes | Julie talks about strategies and tips of how to incorporate the Pearson Edexcel additional texts into your school’s curriculum and the support available to help you do this. |
| 01:50:08 | Katy Lewis | Closing statement. |
| 01:56:32 | Malika Sahonta, Director of Learning for English at Holyhead School | Malika talks about why diversity within literature is so important for their students. |