Research shows that since 2010 there has been a 47% decline in students enrolling for arts subjects, from 13.4% in 2010 to 7.1% in 2024.
The analysis also revealed a 31% fall in A Level arts subjects entries since 2010.
Despite this trend, the past year has shown a small change in the fortunes of Music and Art and Design, with 4% and 1% respectively more GCSE entries.
Campaign for the Arts director Jack Gamble commented: ‘It’s a staggering fact that the proportion of GCSE entries in arts subjects is 47% smaller than it was in 2010. This is a direct result of policies that have systematically underfunded and undervalued the arts, particularly in state-funded secondary schools across England. The collapse in arts entries at both GCSE and A Level underlines the need for those policies to be addressed and reformed, to safeguard the benefits of these important and enriching subjects for children and young people and our whole society and culture.’
In July, the Campaign for the Arts and the University of Warwick co-published the report The State of the Arts, highlighting a crisis in arts education, particularly in state-funded secondary schools in England. It drew attention to a 27% fall in the number of arts teachers since 2011; a 23% drop in the number of hours allocated to arts education; a significant drop in school arts engagement for pupils aged 11-15, including 26% in Music; government segregation of arts subjects from ‘strategically important’ subjects at Higher Education level, with subsequent ‘high cost subject’ funding cuts of 50%; arts and creative courses in Higher Education increasingly at risk from funding cuts; and unequal access to quality pre-school education, which has a disproportionate impact on creative opportunities for children from lower-income families.
