Restoring history of art as an A level will not address the underlying issue: the long-term decline of creative subjects in schools, says Mark Londesborough.
While AQA’s cutting of the history of art A level is a deeply disappointing decision, I’m doubtful that campaigning for its reversal gets to the real heart of the problem. In any case, the subject has long had a small and socially skewed take-up (80% of schools offering it are fee-paying) and an A Level is not a pre-requisite for any progression onto further study, so is it really worth all the fuss? The real issue is the underlying one: that this development is symptomatic of a general, long-term decline in opportunities for children to study creative subjects (including, but not limited to arts subjects) at all... Keep reading on The RSA
While AQA’s cutting of the history of art A level is a deeply disappointing decision, I’m doubtful that campaigning for its reversal gets to the real heart of the problem. In any case, the subject has long had a small and socially skewed take-up (80% of schools offering it are fee-paying) and an A Level is not a pre-requisite for any progression onto further study, so is it really worth all the fuss? The real issue is the underlying one: that this development is symptomatic of a general, long-term decline in opportunities for children to study creative subjects (including, but not limited to arts subjects) at all... Keep reading on The RSA