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Bacc For The Future – help save creativity in schools
Nov
It is more than one year since the Department for Education launched a consultation on its plans for a new English Baccalaureate (EBacc). The planned EBacc excludes creative, artistic and technical subjects. It will make a minimum of seven GCSEs (and as many as nine) effectively compulsory for secondary school pupils in England; since the average number of GCSEs taken by pupils is 8.1, this will leave little, if any, room for such subjects.
The Incorporated Society of Musicians (ISM) is calling on the Government to get its GCSE reforms right. It has started a cross-sector campaign, Bacc For The Future, calling for creative subjects, including music, to be valued equally to other subjects and to be included in the proposed EBacc.
Deborah Annetts, Chief Executive of the Incorporated Society of Musicians, said:
“The EBacc is not fit for children or the economy. It must include a sixth pillar of creative subjects. Without this our children will be denied a fully rounded education. These subjects also lie at the heart of our economy, and the Prime Minister has said that we need to make our economy competitive in a global market. Music alone contributes £5 billion per year to the UK economy, and, together, our creative industries contribute 6% of GDP.”
You can read more about the campaign at www.baccforthefuture.com. The website includes a petition and a suggested letter for you to send to your MP.
