Just 2% of pupils study a whole novel or play by a women for GCSE English, a new study reveals. 

The research by End Sexism in Schools (ESIS), published on World Book Day, found a similar pattern across all four exam boards: students are consistently reading books by and about men.

Each exam board has a list of texts for teachers to chose from for the English Literature modules 19th-century novel, and modern prose and drama.

Seven out of 10 texts on the GCSE lists have a male protagonist, the research found. Anita and Me by Meera Syal is the only modern novel with a female protagonist on the set text list of all four exam boards – it is also consistently the least taught.

As a result, the study concludes, “not only do boys never learn to empathise with and appreciate the viewpoints and experiences of women, but they also receive the clear message that women’s voices and perspectives are less important and less valid”.

Even where exam boards offer a list equally split between books by men and women, teachers overwhelmingly lean towards male-authored texts.

The exam board Eduqas, for example, lets schools choose between six books for the 19th-century module, three by men and three by women.

In 2022, 82.4% of students taking the Eduqas English Literature exam studied A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens.

Taking in all exam boards, 80% of students were taught An Inspector Calls by JB Priestley and 72% were taught A Christmas Carol last year.

The study’s author, English teacher and ESIS founder Rachel Fenn, said it’s not enough for exam boards to expand their set text lists in an effort to diversify – texts need to be replaced otherwise teachers will continue to lean on old favourites.

The research suggests that one reason why female-authored books are taught so rarely is that they are disproportionately longer than books by men, making them automatically less likely to be taught.

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

ESIS called on exam boards to ensure a 50/50 balance of male and female-authored texts, make it mandatory for pupils to study at least one book by a woman and make sure there is a spread of challenge across all texts so female-authored texts aren’t neglected because of their length.

“In a time of ever-increasing violence towards women, the time for change must be now,” the study added.

Be the first to get Breaking News

Install the Sky News app for free

The research asked the four exam boards to provide data for the number of pupils who answered exam questions on each set text in 2018, 2019 and 2022, with the pandemic years excluded as these were based on teacher assessments.

The other modules of a Shakespeare play and a selection of poetry were not analysed in the research, as the data was not available to ascertain which poems from the anthologies were taught.

Related posts:

Blood clot victim’s sister ‘very angry’ but says everyone should have Oxford jab ‘Significant milestone’ as Morrisons widens plastic bag ban to include ‘bags for life’ COP26 conference ‘last, best opportunity to get real’ on the climate, says John Kerry Gov says new online safety bill will keep people safe but not everyone is convinced Police helicopter finds missing girl, six, asleep in a field over half a mile from her home Cristiano Ronaldo scores twice at buoyant Old Trafford on his second debut for Manchester United On this wall, there is one heart for every Briton who died from COVID. But now, they are starting to fade Women diagnosed with cervical cell changes ‘often experience feelings of shame, isolation and anxiety’ Job advert for new Metropolitan Police commissioner published with £293,000 salary Police offer £20,000 reward to find missing man feared to have suffered ‘serious harm’ Three snakes found dead near Scottish loch Sarah Everard’s killer Wayne Couzens pleads guilty to three counts of indecent exposure