A new report has shown that fewer students are choosing to combine arts with sciences at A level, and this is seen to be a direct result of the previous Conservative government’s education policies at the time when Michael Gove was Education Secretary:
When I did A levels, many years ago, I chose Maths, Physics and English on the basis that I really enjoyed Maths and English and couldn’t decide between a sciences or an arts route. Physics was just because it kind of went with maths, and I was interested in the big ideas behind it (still am) though it probably wasn’t well thought through.
I’m so glad even now that I combined arts with sciences, even though I chose a sciences career path – I feel that it has strengthened my broad range of skills, and really aided my careers in both teaching and publishing where communication and analytical skills are both vital.
I hope the new government will ensure that a more balanced curriculum all the way through school is available to all, and reverse some of the previous administration’s policies around limited baccalaureates that favour STEM over the arts.