Students to study Russell Brand as part of new English A-level course

Russell Brand has been included in a new 'fresh and exciting' English A-level course.

Exam board OCR revealed that students would now study the 39-year-old comedian's stance on drugs, which were presented to the House of Commons as part of a text list, Metro.co.uk reported.

The course also includes the transcript of a BBC Newsnight interview with rapper Dizzee Rascal, works from Shakespeare, Orwell and Bronte as well as the Twitter comments of columnist Caitlin Moran and passages by The Secret Footballer, an anonymous professional player who writes about the game.

Paul Dodd, OCR director of reform said that they were "delighted" with the course and their goal was to aim to produce a rich, diverse mix of content that would help to inspire the new generation of students.

However, the course has faced negative response from some critics who say that the course would "dumb down" the English Language and Literature.