CHOOSING & APPLYING I
n a recent letter to the Guardian, a number of prominent artists, including Tracey Emin and Antony Gormley, expressed their concerns about the status of arts and creative subjects in UK secondary schools. Concerns were raised over the government’s drive for 90 per cent of GCSE pupils to choose the English Baccalaureate (Ebacc) subject combination by 2025, which does not include any arts or creative subjects. The letter said, “There is compelling evidence that the study of creative subjects is in decline in state schools and that entries to arts and creative subjects have fallen to their lowest level in a decade. Young people are being deprived of opportunities for personal development in the fields of self- expression, sociability, imagination and creativity.” The creative industries bring in £92 billion to the UK economy each year but this is often little publicised in our drive to fill job vacancies.
THE GLOBAL CREATIVE SUCCESS OF ONE UK STATE SCHOOL
At the 37th COBIS annual conference held in May, Kirsty Mehta, senior assistant principal at The BRIT School in Croydon, UK – a state-funded performing arts school which boasts alumni such as Adele, Amy Winehouse and Tom Holland – explained some of the keys to its success and why she believes that arts and creative subjects should be placed at the centre of the curriculum in order to help children thrive. The BRIT School is one of just three state-funded performing arts schools in the country. Founded in 1991 by two musicians and an investment from Richard Branson, it is a state- funded school with support from the British Record Industry Trust (BRIT).
The school flies the flag for both the creative and vocational curriculum – 99 per cent of its students go onto further education or employment and Ms Mehta believes strongly that the vocational subjects that students take at the school (which are part and parcel of the study programme) mean that they are work-ready and easily employable.
Children can join at either 14 or 16 and – at 14 – study a core curriculum of GCSEs, which includes maths, English and science but they also have 5 hours a week dedicated to working towards BTEC qualifications in numerous performing arts subjects such as Film & Media Production, Dance, Music, Visual Arts and Design. At 16+ students can choose BTEC qualifications, A levels or a mixture of both. “Twenty per cent of our students go straight into the world of work after they leave our school because they’ve been vocationally trained,” said Ms Mehta. The hands-on experience also means that they are really able to develop their talents. Esme, a BRIT student who has recently been accepted to RADA said, “I knew I wanted to do theatre and backstage work from a young age. The BRIT school gave me the opportunities to train in what I really wanted to do.”
THE LONG ROAD TO SUCCESS AND THE IMPORTANCE OF BUSINESS PARTNERSHIPS Ms Mehta says that it has taken the school 25 years of hard work to get to where it is today but it now generates global interest – Apple CEO, Tim Cook paid a recent visit to the school which resulted in a £280,000 donation of Apple products. As a state-funded school it has to rely on support like this to meet an additional £750,000 per year needed for its tech requirements. “The kind of educational provision at The BRIT School is normally something you have to pay for,” said Ms Mehta, “and I’ve often been asked how to bottle our success. The energy you feel when you walk through the door is immense and it’s difficult to provide a blueprint for that.” However, she did offer some advice to those looking to develop performing arts facilities in their schools or for families looking for a school that excels in creative subjects.
THE TRAITS TO LOOK FOR IN A SCHOOL THAT VALUES CREATIVITY
“Exceptional facilities and equipment are vital. We are very relaxed and free – we have no bells, no uniform, quirkiness is celebrated. Kids feel like they can be who they want to be and are accepted,” said Ms Mehta.
“They also know that we trust them – we have an open door policy for all of our facilities. Students can use anything at any time, which gives them responsibility and enables them to practise. And we don’t have things stolen or ruined which is exceptional in a school with 1,300 students.”
“All these children are going into the world of work and you want them to be able to be successful in whatever they do – earn a salary through creative arts or wherever their talents lie but schools are often so fixated on performance measures that creative subjects are side-lined.”
British School of Brussels
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