EBacc protestors push for Parliamentary debate

A Parliamentary debate about whether the new English Baccalaureate (EBacc) poses a threat to arts education is on the cards if campaigners can attract enough support.

A petition to “include expressive arts subjects in the EBacc” has so far attracted 74,102 signatures. It will need to receive almost 400 more per day to reach the 100,000 required by 9 May for a debate in the House of Commons to be considered.

Under Government plans, 90% of GSCE students in the UK will take at least seven qualifications in the EBacc subjects: double or triple science, English language and literature, maths, geography or history and an ancient or modern foreign language.

The omission of a creative subject from this list has attracted criticism from arts leaders, MPs and even scientists, who worry the arts are being sidelined, as schools feel the pressure to focus their time and resources on EBacc subjects. Art teachers have warned that pupils are being steered away from their subject and the number of students taking drama and music has fallen since the EBacc was first introduced as a performance measure.