Schools cut arts curriculum after ministers call for more students to take languages and humanities
Scores of secondary schools have made a snap decision to narrow pupils' choice of arts subjects for this September after ministers called for many more students to take languages and humanities.
Michael Gove, the education secretary, announced in December that performance tables would now measure the proportion of pupils at each school who obtain good grades in five specified core subjects at GCSE: English, maths, at least one science, a foreign language and a humanities subject. Pupils who achieve a grade C or above in this combination of subjects will receive a special certificate, the English Baccalaureate.
Teaching unions were critical of the decision to apply the measure retrospectively when the latest annual performance tables were published last month. In over half of state secondary schools, under 10% of pupils achieved the English Bac. In 270 schools, no pupil achieved the qualification.
Many schools have taken dramatic steps in the last month to ensure more pupils obtain the English Bac. Some schools have made languages and a humanity compulsory to GCSE, as maths, English and science are. Others have allotted more time to English Bac subjects.
But this sidelined art, music, design and technology and religious education in many schools, say organisations that represent teachers of these subjects who fear pupils will fail to achieve a rounded education as a result.
The National Society for Education in Art and Design (NSEAD) said some head teachers were removing art and design as a GCSE option so that pupils could study English Bac subjects instead. Over 60% of art teachers told NSEAD they thought fewer pupils would start art GCSE courses this autumn because of the introduction of the English Bac. The organisation polled about 100 teachers. John Steers, general secretary of the society, said it felt as if the government had launched an "assault" on art and design. "Clearly the ministers don't value the subjects. It is bizarre, because in some ways they are very keen on pupils learning about our culture – in history lessons, for example.
"It is particularly strange because the creative industries employ so many British people. Of course the subjects in the English Bac are very important, but alone they are not what makes a broad, liberal education."
Richard Green, chief executive of the Design and Technology Association, said teachers had been contacting him to say that design and technology had suddenly been withdrawn as a GCSE option at their school.
"In our technological age, it's never been more appropriate to study design and technology,'' he said.
The National Association of Teachers of Religious Education polled almost 800 schools and found that nearly one in three secondary schools are planning to cut time spent teaching RE as a result of the English Bac. The National Association of Music Educators found that 57 out of 95 schools are planning to cut opportunities to study GCSE music this September.
A review of music education will be published tomorrow. The review, conducted by the managing director of Classic FM, Darren Henley, is thought to be considering a radical devolution of responsibility for music education, so that it would be up to the whims of each local authority and headteacher to choose whether and how they fund music. A spokesman for the Department for Education said the English Bac would be only one measure of performance, and "should not be the limit of schools' ambitions for their pupils".
"Schools will retain the freedom to innovate and offer the GCSEs, iGCSEs and other qualifications which best meet the needs of their pupils," he said.