Woke row as famous poet dropped from school curriculums

A school board in has dropped national poet from its curriculum in the name of “diversity”, sparking outcry from commentators.

The Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA) has scrapped Burns’ writing as a main topic in secondary schools, consigning it instead to a wider anthology of national poetry taught on the course.

The bid to boost “diversity” of literature by “repositioning” the poet has met with backlash online, with MSP Michael Marra questioning why a man who “did more than any writer in history to save our culture and tongue” was being put on the sidelines.

“His work is worth more than abandonment to the vagaries of fashion,” Mr Marra added. “We should raise him up, not let him go.”

“It is vitally important that we provide our young people with endless opportunities to study him,” echoed Professor Gerard Carruthers, chair of Scottish literature at the University of Glasgow.

“He possesses a genius with words that’s almost freakish; similar to Shakespeare, Joyce and Blake,” the academic told Scottish Field Magazine.

The SQA has defended the change by pointing to a dip in popularity of Burns’ work, which includes the narrative poem Tam o’ Shanter and one of the most famous songs in the English language, Auld Lang Sang.

The new curriculum is based on a consultation that surveyed over 2,500 teachers, pupils and literary experts from around the country, with “diverse” new titles replacing Burns’ work including more novels penned by women writers, authors of colour and those from LGBTQ backgrounds.

“This is the first review and update of the Scottish set text list since 2018 and rightly it was an opportunity to consider the titles on it and assess how teachers and learners engage with the works and see if and where any changes were necessary,” Robert Quinn, Head of English, Languages and Businesses at SQA said.

“The feedback we received was clear. Teachers and lecturers wanted to retain the most popular texts, but they also wanted a list that is diverse and relevant for learners.

“From learners we heard them say they wanted to see more modern and diverse texts that had challenging themes and strong emotional content included in the revised list.”

The changes will come into effect this year, with the first assessments based on the new curriculum taking place in 2026.

In another blow to lovers of Scotland’s Bard, an annual festival celebrating his legacy has also been cancelled after failing to get backing from the Scottish government.

The multi-venue event Burns and Beyond, which usually takes place across Edinburgh on January 25, and includes storytelling, ceilidh dancing and supper events, apologised for the cancellation after “discussions with funding partners”.

Organisers urged revellers to mark the bard’s birthday by attending other “wonderful Burns suppers, ceilidhs and events taking place throughout the city” in a statement to .

A Scottish government spokesperson said: “As set out in our programme for government, we intend to review the way the culture sector is supported, and ensure the £34 million increase for culture in the draft 2025-26 budget delivers for Scotland.”