A brand new report commissioned by the UK authorities that proposes scrapping the English Baccalaureate (EBacc) has at this time been welcomed by campaigners, who say that the qualification has downgraded arts topics in English faculties.
The EBacc, launched in 2010 by the then schooling secretary Michael Gove, requires pupils to review a minimal of seven GCSEs, together with maths and a language, however the choices don’t embrace any arts topics. Colleges have subsequently been pressured to focus on these core topics with arts choices more and more excluded, campaigners say.
Beneath the brand new system, based on The Instances, youngsters can be anticipated to take English, maths and two single sciences or mixed science. They have to select two GCSEs which are both artistic, humanities or languages and two free selection topics.
The schooling secretary Bridget Phillipson commissioned the brand new evaluate of the GCSE curriculum, which was led by Professor Becky Francis, the chief government of the Training Endowment Basis.
Responding to the report’s suggestions, the Ministry of Training stated in an announcement: “Beneath the brand new preparations, arts GCSEs can be given equal standing to humanities and languages, recognising their worth in boosting confidence and broadening expertise for a aggressive job market.”
In 2024/25, 40.5% of pupils in England had been entered for the EBacc based on authorities information. In response to current analysis carried out for Arts and Minds by WeThink/Omnisis, participation in arts topics at GCSE stage has fallen by 42% over the previous 15 years.
The Cultural Coverage Unit, a think-tank led by Alison Cole (the previous editor of The Artwork Newspaper), says in an announcement: “This can be a dramatic turnaround, following 14 years of arts and inventive schooling being eroded in our faculties. The EBacc, a measure which at one stroke made arts and tradition the protect of a privileged few, is to be scrapped, a daring suggestion that’s to be massively applauded and which marks a significant transfer in direction of decreasing inequality. We’re additionally delighted that the humanities, along with the humanities and languages will type the fifth pillar of a real and rounded schooling for all.”
The Cultural Coverage Unit additionally recommends a Childhood Arts Assure, which might be sure that each baby participates in key inventive and cultural experiences. “We hope a dedication to such ‘core enrichment’ can be met in in addition to out of faculty,” an announcement provides.
