Don't strip the curriculum of subjects that matter...

Writing in the Spectator Arts Blog, Barbara Elliott (Headmistress of Channing School, London) discusses the pressures schools face to achieve good positions in league tables and the risks this presents to creative areas of the curriculum…

Over the past two decades, many schools have become slaves to league tables. The pressure, from government and elsewhere, to measure success in terms of examination results has been immense. Much attention is focussed on predetermined ‘core’ areas, namely Mathematics, English and Science.

Of course, giving young people a sound grasp of numeracy and literacy is crucial. They would be seriously disadvantaged without it.

But what has all the target-chasing done to our national curriculum? My fear is that the relentless pressure for league table success has squeezed out the areas of the curriculum that help children develop creative imaginations, and that many of them enjoy the most. I’m thinking of Music, Art and Drama — none of which have any place in the much lauded English Baccalaureate.

At my school, Channing, in north London, pupils enjoy opportunities for creativity that are sadly lacking elsewhere. True, we are an independent school, but we are neither wealthy nor awash with state-of-the-art equipment. Instead, careful budgeting and curriculum design has allowed our girls to exercise their imaginations. For example, all our 11 year-olds have a lesson called I-squared, which stands for Independent Investigation. We are constantly staggered by what these youngsters are capable of producing — from brilliantly edited films to innovative art work and presentations — with very little help or intervention from teachers.

I have always believed in the transformational power of music. So why are schools cutting this key part of the curriculum? Children want more, not less. Why not teach some aspects of numeracy and literacy via the medium of music? Let pupils create their own compositions, critique each others’ and perform. Learn from the triumphs of the Simon Bolivar Youth Orchestra of Venezuela.

The same goes for Drama and Art. In the jostle for curriculum space, these subjects can help even the most disaffected pupils express themselves.

Not all my pupils will become musicians, artists and actors. That’s not the point. What matters is that, having developed their powers of imagination, they will be far better placed to create a better future for themselves and for our economy too. So go on, Mr Gove, give creativity a chance.

See Spectator Arts Blog for more

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