For some additional context as someone who studied Of Mice and Men myself at GCSE which I don’t think this article covers. Do take this as a grain of salt as I completed my GCSEs over a decade ago and therefore the way this book is taught today will probably be different from my experiences.

GCSEs are the first meaningful qualification that students in the UK get, so, the level of study and understanding at this stage is comparatively basic. For English Literature it boils down to “the author states that the curtains in the room are blue, this is a reflection of how the character is sad in this scene”.

For this kind of level of education and for the subject that is being taught, I do not think it is necessary to use a book with racial slurs. What’s the benefit of forcing students to be exposed to racial slurs if the focus of the subject being taught isn’t even racism beyond “they call Crooks [insert slur here], this shows how he is isolated for being different and this plays into the themes of loneliness in this book”.