Creative subjects are so important to improving attainment and developing lifelong skills. The influence of learning a creative subject extends beyond that subject. A study by the American Psychological Association found that music students were outperforming their nonmusical peers in Maths, science, and English.
Yet, since 2010, enrolments in state schools in arts GCSEs has fallen by 40% and the number of arts teachers in the UK has declined by 23% due to the previous Conservative government’s decision to no longer prioritise them in the National Curriculum.
The Labour government is changing this – they have given arts GCSEs equal status to humanities and languages and are establishing a new National Centre for Music and Arts Education.
At today’s Prime Minister’s Questions – which I was lucky to win in the lottery for two weeks in a row now – I asked Keir Starmer about the new National Centre, and how the government is going to address funding shortfalls. Over the last year, the Prime Minister has discussed how music education shaped his own childhood, and I hope to see him expand these opportunities to young people across the country no matter their background.