‘Absolute outrage’: arts in state schools must be a priority for next government, say theatre leaders

Addressing the erosion and devaluation of the arts in state schools must be a priority for the next government, leading theatre figures in England have urged.

Sir Nicholas Hytner, who ran the National Theatre in London for 12 years, said that state schools “have been robbed” and that restoring arts education was a matter of urgency to ensure that there is “not just a new generation of artists but a new generation of audiences”. Nancy Medina, the artistic director of Bristol Old Vic, said the arts should be a “necessity for all pupils” and not just the “preserve” of independent schools. Theresa Heskins, artistic director of Staffordshire’s New Vic, suggested that the next government commit to providing every schoolchild a theatre trip.

Data released last month by the Cultural Learning Alliance revealed that there has been an overall decline of 42% in the number of arts GCSE entries and 21% in arts A-level entries since Michael Gove’s introduction of the Ebacc system, which excludes all arts subjects, in 2010. In that time, teacher recruitment in music has fallen by 56% and 42% of schools no longer enter any pupils for music GCSE while 41% no longer enter any pupils for drama GCSE.

Hytner said it was “an absolute outrage” and a “disreputable sleight of hand” that the government had placed the responsibility for developing new theatre practitioners and nurturing new theatregoers “on an underfunded sector which is finding it hard enough simply to keep its head above water”.

Hytner is now artistic director of London Theatre Company which operates the Bridge theatre, a commercial venue. Acknowledging that he is no longer part of the subsidised sector, he said that it is “simply not funded to fill the gap left by essentially the disappearance of creative and performing arts education in state schools”.

Acknowledging the boost from the government’s introduction of a higher rate of theatre tax relief, and its Culture Recovery Fund during the pandemic, Hytner said: “I do look on with something like rage when the creative industries themselves have been required to do what should be done in schools.”

There was a general expansion in theatres’ education, community and outreach work when Hytner was at the National from 2003 to 2015, he said. “I wish that we had insisted at the time that that expansion came with direct funding from the government departments responsible for what we – funded by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport – were now doing.” For example, he said the departments for education and health should have directly funded such work. “Dance companies do a hell of a lot [of community work] that is directly health-related. To do it out of core funding has proved ultimately to be too much of a burden.” Yet such work was of primary importance, he added.

The Labour party, said Hytner, “has identified a need for arts education in schools to be addressed … If Thangam Debbonaire is the new secretary of state [for Culture, Media and Sport] and doesn’t lose to the Greens in Bristol then I think that’s pretty encouraging.”

Medina praised Debbonaire who started out as a professional cellist. “The prospect of a culture secretary who is an artist themselves, who is so passionate about the cultural sector, and who can directly attest to the transformational power of the arts, is one that the whole sector would gladly welcome,” she said, while inviting more policy detail from Labour, “specifically around arts education”.

For Medina, the contrast in arts provision between state and independent schools, is stark. “Go to any private school and see their state-of-the-art performance spaces and cultural provision. Plainly, those institutions – the staff, the parents, the pupils – believe the arts are important and worth investing in. But it just can’t be the preserve of private education. Arts is a necessity for all pupils.”

Medina highlighted the positive impact that exposure to the arts brings to attainment in core Ebacc subjects such as maths and science as well as wellbeing, empathy, inclusivity and innovation. Prioritising arts education would “supercharge the next generation of pupils” who are “inheriting a world beset with a host of complex challenges”, she said. A grounding in the arts would provide “a toolkit that gives them the best chance of solving them”. Art, added Medina, is not always “about representing things as they are, more often it is about what could be”.

Like Hytner, Medina pointed to the importance of students developing skills for the creative industries. “A significant problem is the reducing opportunities for people to train,” she said. “Creating theatre requires myriad highly skilled people. A level of skill that can only be developed through experience. These skills are highly sought after – it’s why the sector has a shortage right now as lots of people have moved over to better-paid TV and film work since the pandemic. We need these skills not only to fulfil roles as they are now, but also to push the boundaries of our art form.”

Heskins, who runs the New Vic theatre in Newcastle-under-Lyme, said that “to sustain our rich and vibrant theatre and arts industry, we really must ensure we’re engaging our children and young people in the arts from the earliest ages”. A visit to the theatre, she suggested, “can help broaden children’s horizons, help them to learn and increase cognitive skill across all subject areas and help develop emotional intelligence”. Enabling children to experience “more creative activity as part of their studies” is essential, said Heskins, who observed “a reduction in provision and the marginalisation of arts subjects in schools”.

Heskins said that theatres had taken on an extra role as “community centres” which contribute to “improving child literacy, raising aspiration, improving community cohesion and generating civic pride”. The cost of living crisis meant that many children are missing out on arts experiences, she added. “I’d be keen to see whoever is successful in forming the next government prioritise funding and resources to allow children and young people access to as much live theatre as possible before they leave school – committing to provision that allows every child to attend the theatre at least once before they turn 16.”

Her own first experience of theatre came through a school trip, said Heskins, who has a working-class background. “It wasn’t a career I’d considered – until that first school trip when I saw the magic of live performance.”

The government has been approached for comment.