Petition to include arts and music in new curriculum

Which of these would you leave out, at fifteen?

English Baccalaureate subjects:

English
mathematics
history or geography
the sciences
a language

We've got the WelshBac here. It's supposed to be aimed at "rounding" students. Students can only choose 3(I think) non-compulsory subjects. Sciences are compulsory, as is RE. No place for Music and, in any event,(according to dd at least) you have to have achieved Grade 3 or equivalent to study it.

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The state of Music education here is shocking.

Yes jings but the thing about the bacc is it is highly intensive and requires a great deal of study time, so the extra subject will be something tacked on for the cleverest and most able. Most average kids will only manage the Bacc. If creative subjects are part of it they will remain a main part of education. If they become just add-ons they will attract less students and become less financially viable eventually they will become second-rate subjects only available in some schools. It should also be remembered that the creative industries bring huge amounts of money to the economy and are amongst our most successful endeavours.

I think the English bacc sounds alright actually. They can still choose an arts subject to take with it. (maybe more than one, I'm not sure)

My GS is lucky in that his school is an Arts college, so he has drama and music coming out of his ears. And they run a Saturday morning drama and music group. DD and s-i-l chose his school for that reason.

That article is behind the times.

From some Gov paper:

"Is the English Baccalaureate compulsory?
No. We have been clear that schools remain free to offer the curriculum that is right for their pupils. The English Baccalaureate is not compulsory but it does represent a core of subjects we want
12 HL Deb, 21 June 2011 ccWA277
13 House of Commons Education Committee, Fifth report of Session 2010-12, HC Paper 851, Ev18
9 English Baccalaureate
pupils to have the opportunity to study. Other qualifications remain valuable in their own right and we will encourage all pupils to study rigorous non-English Baccalaureate subjects and qualifications alongside it so they benefit from a well-rounded education

It's going to be made compulsory

Are there that many people actually doing the E-Bac? My DD's school doesn't offer it, and my GS has decided to choose his own subjects.

Signed.

Yes, I've been made aware of this by my daughter, a secondary teacher. I've signed and shared in FB.

Subjects such as Music, Art, Drama, etc will be marginalised. Even though my own subjects were Maths & Science, and I know there is a need for more pupils to take these subjects to a higher level, I cannot accept this narrowing of the curriculum.