JK Rowling’s first book, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone has been included in the English language and literature syllabus. This places Rowling alongside Dickens and Shakespeare. The students who choose the Harry Potter book will need to write an 800 word story inspired by the book and another 1,500 word essay comparing JK Rowling with another author.

Although the news has been well-received by the students themselves, experts have claimed that this is just more evidence of the “dumbing down” of school standards. AQA, the UK Awarding Body for A-levels and GCSEs defended their decision, a spokesman saying “Harry Potter is a genuine example of literature of our time. It deserves its place in this unit”.