Are We Witnessing the Slow Death of the Creative Industries?

By Lizzie Exton

Some leading lights of the creative industries have been expressing concerns that schools and universities are ‘killing off’ arts subjects, and the numbers seem to back up the claims.  Between 2012 and 2017, entries for GCSE Design and Technology dropped by 32 percent, Performing Arts by 26 percent, Drama by 14 percent, Music by 8 percent and Art by 1 percent. 

The creative industries currently bring around £92 billion a year to the UK economy, but that could be about to change as GCSE, A-Level and university students turn their backs on these subjects.  So are we witnessing the slow demise of creativity in education, and what could the implications be for future of the UK?

Budget cuts to schools and drastic reforms of the education system may well have created a ticking time bomb for the creative industries, and could make it harder to recruit talented individuals further down the line.  In 2011 the government rolled out the new English Baccalaureate (EBacc), a league table measure which put the emphasis firmly on the ‘core’ subjects of Maths, English and Science, with GCSE pupils also expected to take one language subject and either history or geography.

As headteachers have seen their budgets slashed, it’s hardly surprising that they’ve had to take drastic measures and, logically, channel what funds they do have into the subjects their schools are going to be judged on.  In pushing students towards those more ‘traditional’ EBacc subjects and diverting money away from the creative curriculum, the decline was set in motion and has continued on its downward trajectory ever since.

To some extent, it’s easier to pass exams in the core subjects and easier to coach children and teenagers towards higher grades.  In maths you either get the equation right or wrong.  In languages you either know the verb or you don’t.  In science you’ve either learnt the formula or haven’t.  When it comes to art, music, creative writing or drama, the grading is on more of a sliding scale and often down to the subjective judgment of the person grading the paper.  If they’re having a good day you might pass with flying colors, if they don’t like your style then you may well fail.

And that’s the big F word that nobody wants to hear.  Schools want higher grades, and higher grades means putting pressure on student not to ‘fail’ at anything.  As the focus shifts to subjects which have a 100 percent right or wrong answer, students are being discouraged from thinking creatively, being more experimental and, perhaps, ‘failing’ and learning from their mistakes.

This extends beyond secondary school and into university.  The 2012 increase in domestic tuition fees has meant students naturally want their money’s worth, and they don’t want to pour thousands of pounds into a degree if there’s any danger of not securing the grades or not landing a decent job at the end.  While it’s easy to see where a maths degree or engineering degree might take you, it’s not always clear where a degree in English Literature or Fine Art might lead.  Every company needs its accountants, IT pros and pensions managers, but very few apparently need someone who can analyze a poem or write a musical score.

And it’s not just the UK where creative subjects are becoming less popular. The recent QS report Indian Applicants: Focus on STEM Subjects and Academic Freedom found that more and more Indian students are choosing STEM subjects, as they’re typically seen as more valuable and lucrative for their future careers, although a small number have felt pressure to choose these subjects from family members.