Artistic creativity brings science to life

The recent national launch of the Your Life campaign – which aims to increase the number of teenagers studying maths and physics GCSE by half within the next three years – highlighted the invaluable role that STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) subjects will continue to play in Britain’s economic development.

Speaking at the launch, Secretary of State for Education Nicky Morgan MP argued that too many young people are limiting themselves by only studying humanities subjects, adding that students should opt to study maths or science subjects if they wished to access the widest range of jobs.

Whilst her comments have been interpreted by some as overlooking the job prospects for humanities students, the Your Life campaign’s stance is not that every student should be studying STEM subjects, but rather that a rebalancing (especially for girls and young women) is required.

From marketing and theatre to filmmaking and fashion, all industries and sectors – including many in the arts – are becoming increasingly reliant on science and maths skills. As such, we must ensure this is reflected in the number of students who study these subjects – whether through higher/vocational education or apprenticeships.

And we must ensure that young people are fully aware of the hugely exciting career opportunities that are open to those with STEM qualifications. Just 2% of girls take Physics A-level for example, partly due to the stereotypes of physics being only about particles and science labs.

But of course, the humanities and arts-based subjects are as equally important to our economy and the need for a diversely skilled workforce swings both ways.

STEM and the arts should not be seen as mutually exclusive, but rather complementary and bringing out the best of each other; in many industries, STEM serves as the quantitative backbone with artistic creativity bringing STEM to life. This is why the Royal Bank of Scotland, which has traditionally hired mathematicians and economists, has recently launched a recruitment drive specifically targeting more creatively thinking humanities students, for example.

The key to a competitive economy is diversity. We still need our artists, writers and lawyers – but in increasing numbers so too do we need young people skilled in sciences, maths and technology. Only then can we ensure Britain stays a world-beater across all industries.