15th May 2013 9:00
By Blue Tutors
This week the exams watch dog Ofqual has proposed that the government focus on pupil’s overall achievement in English and Maths as a measure of progress and core educational values. The advice was designed to shift focus away from exam results, and encourage the government to look more broadly at student’s educational attainment. Accordingly to Ofqual, English and Maths should remain at the centre of the educational accountability framework, but should be looked at over a longer period rather than simply focussing on GCSE results.
It comes as no surprise then that the most common private tuition requests are for English and Maths. These are core subjects, without which students will struggle to go on to achieve their goals in life. However, the government shake up of the curriculum, whilst rightly emphasising these subjects, has dramatically cut back on arts subjects including music, drama and art. These subjects are no longer compulsory at any level, and, as the funding for each pupil is cut, these subjects are likely to be the ones to suffer.
Music in particular, is a subject that is fast becoming the preserve of independent schools, and families who can afford to pay for private music lessons. Schools can no longer afford to provide students with instruments to begin to learn on, and many parents cannot afford to invest in these themselves. For families who can afford it, private tutors are available to help children be creative in the arts subjects which they may no longer get at school. However, by far the most common requests remain for English and Maths, and with schools’ focus narrowing on these subjects as the education budget is shut, it seems that many students will miss out on the creativity and enjoyment provided by arts subjects.