Pupils may be made to study arts

It warns that there is a “good deal” of concern about how much the coalition Government values cultural education in schools, adding that this has been partly caused by the introduction of the English Baccalaureate (EBacc).

To achieve the EBacc pupils must gain at least a C in English, maths, science, a foreign language and history or geography. However it does not include other arts subjects such as dance, drama, design or music.

In his review of cultural education, Darren Henley, suggests including a “sixth group” within the EBacc to cover these subjects.

Mr Henley, managing director of Classic FM, was asked to conduct the review by Ministers in April last year.

The findings say: “There remains a great deal of patchiness in provision of cultural education across England.”

It says that while in some places, education in the arts is “truly excellent” in others there is a “real dearth of provision” which needs to be address to bring standards up to a “universally high level” across the country.

The report later addresses cultural education in the school curriculum, warning that these subjects risk being devalued, and losing funding, if they are removed following the current national curriculum review.