The BBC reports GCSE poem dropped over knife fear, a spokeswoman for the AQA exam board said a complaint was received about the inclusion of the poem and against a background of fears over teenage knife crime had decided to drop it from the anthology. Here’s the poem in question.

Education for Leisure

Today I am going to kill something. Anything.
I have had enough of being ignored and today
I am going to play God. It is an ordinary day,
a sort of grey with boredom stirring in the streets

I squash a fly against the window with my thumb.
we did that at school. Shakespeare. It was in
another language and now the fly is in another language.
I breathe out talent on the glass to write my name.

I am a genius. I could be anything at all, with half
the chance. But today I am going to change the world.
something’s world. The cat avoids me. The cat
knows I am a genius, and has hidden itself.

I pour the goldfish down the bog. I pull the chain.
I see that it is good. The budgie is panicking.
Once a fortnight, I walk the two miles into town
For signing on. They don’t appreciate my autograph.

There is nothing left to kill. I dial the radio
and tell the man he’s talking to a superstar.
he cuts me off. I get our bread-knife and go out.
the pavements glitter suddenly. I touch your arm.

Source: The William Howard School

Yes, it involves a knife, however its not a glorification of knives in any way and when put against what assails us on our TV’s it seems a completely bizarre decision, furthermore I don’t suspect the purpertrators of knife crime spent much time in the classroom, that’s the problem, lack of education, not a poem involving the use of a knife. Still what on earth was in the complaint that made the exam board take such drastic action?