Teach-Secondary-14.1

The Lit in Colour campaign, founded by Penguin Books and the Runnymede Trust, aims to support schools in diversifying their teaching of English, and increasing students’ access to texts by writers of colour and from minority ethnic backgrounds. And it’s sorely needed, given that a staggering 90% of drama texts taught at GCSE, and 96% of those taught at A Level, are written by white playwrights. Following on from Bloomsbury’s inaugural Play List launched in 2023, this year’s ( Incomplete ) Lit in Colour Play List features a further 60 age-appropriate plays by writers of colour for secondary school age students to discover, study and perform. The plays have been curated by Bloomsbury’s Lit in Colour Advisory Board and compiled in collaboration with other play publishers, and span a series of powerful stories, fascinating characters and lived experiences. (Incidentally, the list is deliberately described as ‘ incomplete ’ because there are so many great plays to select from, it’s inevitable that any ‘Play List’ such as this will present only a partial picture). The Play List is compiled according to age group, and structured around recommendations specifically tailored to KS3, KS4 and KS5. Each included play is accompanied by a concise explanation of the themes covered and content warnings where needed, alongside links to further reading around the play and its impact. To help with planning and mapping, the plays are grouped according to themes at the end of the guide in a way that covers an impressive range of areas – including relationships, politics, activism, immigration and belonging, culture and identity, religion, class and society, and more besides. Further teaching resources to support lesson plans based around the plays can be found on the Bloomsbury website, including video Q&As with playwrights, reading guides, blog posts and assorted articles. Diversifying the set texts for GCSE and A Level English and Drama is valuable and important work – and I can’t imagine a better resource than Lit in Colour for helping you navigate the rich variety of excellent texts that are out there and start effecting that change at your school. The Lit in Colour campaign is already making a difference. The recent impact report from Penguin Books and Pearson shows that the overall percentage of students answering on a text by an author of colour for GCSE in England has more than doubled from 0.7% in 2019 to 1.5% in 2023. This is progress, but only the start. Teachers can help to further spread the Lit in Colour word and ensure that their colleagues are in the know, so that more students can benefit from a curriculum that no longer neglects the lives and experiences of so many talented writers. If you haven’t yet seen Bloomsbury’s latest ( Incomplete ) Lit in Colour Play List, then your students are missing out... A T A G L ANCE ENG L I SH AND DRAMA • A list of plays to help schools create more representative and inclusive drama experiences within English and Drama • Comprises a selection of plays suitable for 11- to 18-year-olds written by authors of colour • A readily accessible reading list by a diverse range of playwrights • Presented with performance and staging in mind For more information, visit bloomsbury.com/litincolour ✓ Presents students with a carefully chosen range of diverse, representative and inclusive writing ✓ Creates opportunities for exploring the plays’ contributions to wider discussion and representation ✓ Helps to break down barriers and widen the scope of the curriculum ✓ Encourages teachers to more confidently discuss issues of race, ethnicity, history and diversity You are looking for energising plays by writers of colour that you can introduce to your secondary English and Drama students, in an effort to broaden the scope of your existing curriculum. V E RD I C T UPGRADE I F . . . REVIEWED BY: JOHN DABELL The ( Incomplete ) Lit in Colour Play List 2024 R E V I E W teachwire.net/secondary 80