Michael Gove is abandoning children’s cultural education and leaving them “dangerously exposed”, the head of the Arts Council will warn tonight.
Dame Liz Forgan will criticise the Education Secretary for failing to include arts subjects in the English Baccalaureate qualification, saying he risks “robbing a generation of its birthright and failing in the duty we all have to continue our culture”.
In a lecture at the British Museum to mark the end of her time as chairwoman of the arts funding body, Dame Liz will say that leaving arts subjects out of the EBacc is “a big red signal” that “we don’t care”.
The EBacc will be awarded to pupils who pass GCSE standard exams in maths, English, science, a language and geography or history. But those who take arts subjects instead will not be recognised.
Several leading figures in the arts world have criticised the EBacc, including Nicholas Hytner — artistic director of the National Theatre — Grayson Perry, Julian Lloyd Webber and David Hare.
