How to get children reading again has become one of the highly debated questions in education.
At the centre of it sits an argument over what young people should be reading at school, with the campaigners behind the Lit in Colour movement suggesting that the answer lies in reforming English Literature education.
They argue that GCSE reading lists are out of step with modern Britain and fail to reflect the diversity of the society in which students live.
Calling for a broader balance of voices, including more writers of colour, Lit in Colour claims changes could help reignite a love of reading among students who currently feel disengaged.
Some pupils at The Swan School in Oxfordshire say they are already seeing the impact of the campaign.
Saba told Sky News: “Difference and diversity is important in literature because I think it helps everyone deepen that understanding of the world.
“It’s also important that everyone can see themselves in literature.”
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The campaign has gained momentum as concerns grow about falling reading engagement.
Research carried out by Public First for Lit in Colour suggests 33% of young people say the books they read at school put them off reading, while 68% want an English curriculum that better reflects modern Britain.
Caspar, another student, said exposure to a wider range of voices has changed how he sees the world.
“I think it’s made me more empathetic and open to other people’s lives and what’s going on,” he told Sky News.
“You never really understand what’s going through someone’s life until you actually see what’s happening.”
Caleb added that diverse voices in reading can make “us aware that we can do anything, especially for me, being a young black man in this generation”.
“It makes me aware that I can do so much,” he added
And Bana said: “It just leads on to different perspectives that some students might not be able to see or are not familiar with.”
On getting kids reading, Harriet Hintzer, head of English at The Swan School, told Sky News that campaigns like Lit in colour “shows you once again that kids do love reading, if you give them the right stuff”.
“I think campaigns like Lit in Colour make it far easier than it used to be,” she added. “There are now a lot of resources available, and we’re prepared to share them.”
The government’s recent Curriculum and Assessment Review has recommended that schools ensure pupils study diverse books and poems, but campaigners argue the pace of change remains too slow.
Critics warn however that expanding the curriculum risks diluting academic rigour, insisting that classic writers such as Shakespeare and Dickens should remain central pillars of English literature.
Dr Alka Sehgal Cuthbert, educator and director at the anti-identity politics group Don’t Divide Us, told Sky News: “Shakespeare or Dickens are not just personifications of literary talent; they are human beings in a particular time and place.
“Their social and cultural experiences inform their work, but what makes them still of value today is their unique literary talent.”
Dr Cuthbert also argues that students are being “sold short” if literary quality is compromised, adding that diverse books “might be what you want to read in your own time, for pleasure at home”.
“But,” she said, “they are simply not of sufficient literary quality to be on the curriculum.”
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Currently, some exam boards include works by former Children’s Laureate Malorie Blackman, Dame Meera Syal, Kit De Waal and Nobel Prize winner Kazuo Ishiguro.
Some curricula also include works by the authors Chinua Achebe, Zadie Smith and Vikram Seth.
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The spokesperson for the Department for Education said: “High and rising standards are at the heart of the government’s mission to break down barriers to opportunity and ensure all children can achieve and thrive.
“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.”
