THE Thomas Hardy Society say it is “absolutely flabbergasted” at the decision by one governing board to remove the Dorset poet’s work from their GCSE syllabus.

Chris Loder, MP for West Dorset, branded the decision “appalling” and risked 'erasing some of Dorset’s unique cultural heritage'.

OCR has announced changes to their poetry anthology that will see the works of Thomas Hardy, among others, removed and replaced with more contemporary poets.

Hardy was born in Dorset and was enamoured with the beauty of his home county: he'd go on to become one of Britain's best known novelists and poets.

Dr Tracy Hayes, Secretary of the Dorchester-based Thomas Hardy Society, said the decision “lacked all common sense”.

She said: “We are extremely saddened by this decision. As a GCSE literature and language tutor myself I am flabbergasted that OCR have decided to drop Thomas Hardy, and all of the great World War Two poets, from the war and conflict cluster.

“It’s going to impact students negatively because they need a wider context in order to be able to appreciate the now: the majority of the new poets are 21st century poets that lack the standpoint of being present at the time of conflict.

“I don’t think the students will be able to fully appreciate what they are learning without the context and frame of reference that the works of Thomas Hardy provide.”

OCR said the decision was made as part of their “commitment to improve the diversity of texts studied".

Dr Hayes said the Society supported increased diversity but that lessons of the past could only be learned through the inclusion of historical works.

“We 100% support the inclusion of new works, that’s not in doubt, but the two sets of poetry should sit beside and complement one another. Diversity and inclusivity is absolutely crucial for the progression of society but that past context needs to exist: it shouldn’t be replaced.”

The decision has incurred the furore of Mr Loder who said: “The recent attempts to erase some of the greatest literary icons of our history is of grave concern.

“While Hardy appears to have been side-lined in the name of diversity, it is important to note that Thomas Hardy himself had to climb a mountain from being the son of a rural builder who could not afford a university education, to eventually becoming an Order of Merit who now lies in Westminster Abbey buried amongst kings and the finest poets in history.

Keeley Nolan, Lead Subject Advisor at OCR, said: “The poems we’ve replaced have largely already been assessed. The new poems build on the diversity of the original anthology by offering more poems by contemporary and established poets of colour.”