The reason creative subjects matter at GCSE

Raising the status of the arts and outcomes for all

In November 2025, the government and the Department for Education (DfE) announced new plans for a revitalised curriculum that will see creative subjects such as art and design, drama, and music given equal status to humanities and languages at GCSE.

The government commissioned an independent curriculum and assessment review, led by Professor Becky Francis CBE, CEO of the Education Endowment Foundation (EEF), and is introducing these curriculum changes in response to its findings.

A lot has changed since the last review of the national curriculum over a decade ago. We have witnessed artificial intelligence (AI) become mainstream, navigated the UK’s departure from the European Union, and lived through a global pandemic that brought the world to a standstill for months. Within the review’s executive summary, it states: ‘It is timely that it [the national curriculum] is now refreshed so that it remains cutting edge and fit for purpose to equip young people for our rapidly changing world.’

Whilst many have welcomed the changes to the updated curriculum and the prominence placed on the arts at GCSE, some critics say that giving more importance to creative subjects could lower academic standards. But is this concern justified or are the arts essential for our young people?

Many people have come to believe the misconception that creative subjects are ‘easy’ and dilute academic standards, largely because the government introduced the English Baccalaureate (EBacc) in 2010 as a performance measure for schools. Prioritising the ‘core’ subjects of English, maths and science, as well as humanities and languages, the EBacc explicitly excludes creative subjects, and, in doing so, has indirectly framed them as non-essential and less academic.

Why creativity has been undervalued

The late Sir Ken Robinson, an influential figure in education, championed creativity and campaigned tirelessly for an education system that cultivated creativity and divergent thinking, rather than focusing merely on measurable academic knowledge.

In an interview with his daughter, Kate Robinson, who completed and published Sir Ken’s book following his death, she told Educate back in 2022 that as a species we were facing a crisis of human resources due to the decreased diversity of talents and skills. In order to fix this, Kate said: “We have to channel our powers of creativity into a more determined vision of the future we want to create.”

She added: “If we valued the rainbow of talents and passions that we have, instead of just highlighting a few of them and suppressing the other ones, just think of what we could do under the right conditions.”

Liverpool-born Jimmy Mulville, managing director of Hat Trick Productions who has produced iconic shows such as Have I Got News For You, Outnumbered and Mastermind, has also dreamed of the curriculum reflecting the importance of the arts for many years.

He comments: “I once heard an eminent scientist on the radio say that he thought STEM subjects were very important and that indeed science would eventually save the world, but he added without the arts and culture ‘what’s the point of saving it?’. In his opinion the arts were equally important as the sciences. I wish the curriculum would reflect that. Our survival as a civilisation depends on it. The arts tell us who we are. We forget that at our peril.”

However, this is set to change. The curriculum reform announced at the end of 2025 also includes the removal of the EBacc, a move intended to encourage and empower more students to study the arts.

Creative subjects as intellectual and economic powerhouses

In response to the curriculum and assessment review, headteacher of West Kirby Grammar School, Simeon Clarke, welcomes the acknowledgement that performance measures have had a narrowing effect on the breadth of the curriculum and believes the government’s changes are a move in the right direction to rebalance curriculum priorities.

“Students, families and schools all respond to the signals that the system sends,” says Simeon. “When creative subjects are positioned as peripheral, they quickly become perceived as optional extras rather than intellectually rigorous disciplines in their own right.

“Creative subjects develop different but equally demanding forms of thinking including interpretation, synthesis, evaluation, precision and originality.”

Someone else who welcomes the curriculum announcement, seeing it as a “positive and significant step for the future of the workforce and wider economy” is principal lecturer at Liverpool John Moores University (LJMU), Tom Fletcher.

As a programme leader within LJMU’s Liverpool Business School, Tom understands what it takes to prepare students for success within today’s modern world. He says: “Creative subjects require skills such as research, independent working, critical thinking, resilience, innovation, adaptability and problem-solving, all of which are attributes consistent with high academic standards and vital for success in the workplace.”

Creative industries, defined by the Department for Culture, Media, and Sport (DCMS) as “industries which have their origin in individual creativity, skills and talent”, generate £124 billion a year to the UK’s economy. Although many people recognise London as the hub of the creative industries, the North West also contributes significantly to the sector, generating the third‑highest economic output outside the capital and the South East and creating 196,000 jobs across the region.

Building creative pathways for the future workforce

Discussing these statistics, Jo Ann Whittingham, head of Liverpool Hope Business School and a chartered accountant by trade, says: “Creative industries is a key area of growth for the government who are investing more than £60m into this sector to turbocharge growth. That means, taking GCSE music, drama or art might actually be the most quietly strategic career move a teenager can make.”

With a clear understanding of the career pathways open to students, the arts is a key sector of focus for the likes of Liverpool City Region (LCR) Careers Hub that works with schools and colleges across LCR to connect education and business. A lot of work is currently taking place surrounding its Sound! Music Hub that provides music education and opportunities to young people.

Formby High School is one of the lead schools for the music hub and will be using the opportunity to share its curriculum expertise from across its experienced music department.

Steve Cook, senior assistant headteacher, says: “We are delighted to be joining the group of lead schools for the new Sound! Music Hub. We hope to use the opportunity to develop high quality training and CPD activities, spearhead some creative project and partnership work, and galvanise our local community of music educators into collective action.”

Formby High School is also piloting a project with Artsmark to explore how a creative school with multiple Artsmark Platinum awards can remain sustainable. Steve added: “We will be working alongside a small group of other schools, nationally, to co-create materials, ideas, and projects around the embedding of a creative ethos. We’re keen to explore the impact of students’ engagement in arts education.”

Creativity as a critical skill in a rapidly changing world

When delivering careers education into schools, LCR Careers Hub uses the ‘Skills Builder Universal Framework’, a research-informed resource that teaches and measures eight transferable skills for employment which includes creative problem solving and communication, skills that can be developed through the study of arts-based subjects.

Whilst a career within the creative industries is, evidently, a worthwhile and rewarding choice, the skills students gain from studying creative subjects at GCSE are equally valuable across a wide range of other sectors.

In a world where technology and AI are transforming every sector, the ability to think creatively is more essential than ever. Creative subjects teach students to approach problems imaginatively, adapt to new challenges, and generate original solutions.

“Schools that value and embed creativity into the fabric of their culture and curriculum ensure students are equipped with the essential skills for navigating a complex, rapidly changing world,” comments Emily Reid.

Emily works across schools within Holy Family Catholic Multi Academy Trust (HFCMAT) and is the lead for ‘C-Change’, a project set up as part of a national programme into teaching for creativity. HFCMAT was selected as the lead organisation in the North West and piloted a range of innovative teaching approaches focused on creativity across the curriculum.

From their research, Emily and the C-Change team discovered that “nurturing creativity can explicitly move education from merely preparing students to know things, to preparing them to make things and solve problems.”

Creativity, wellbeing and the wider purpose of education

It is not just the research that demonstrates this, employers are saying it too. Michelle Dow is the managing director of All About Futures, an organisation dedicated to building the workforce of the future by supporting young people to make informed choices about their next steps in education and careers through its work with employers across the North West.

She says: “Across almost every sector we work with, from healthcare and advanced manufacturing to tech, logistics and games, employers tell us the same thing: creative thinking is essential. Employers consistently emphasise that they can train technical skills, but they rely on candidates who can think creatively, collaborate effectively and bring a fresh perspective to stand out.

“Many see creative capability not as a ‘nice to have’ but as a key driver of innovation, productivity and workforce resilience.”

Creativity drives innovation across businesses of all sizes, from global corporations to SMEs (small and medium sized enterprises) and start-ups, making creative skills essential for entrepreneurship.

When discussing critics who worry that giving more weight to creative subjects could weaken academic standards, Dr Steve Nolan, senior lecturer at LJMU’s Liverpool Business School who teaches business with finance, argues that people often overlook the strong connection between creativity and business.

He says: “I think part of the issue is in thinking there is a dichotomy between creativity and business. Any kind of entrepreneurial behaviour is, literally, an act of creation. You need the vision to see a gap in the market and knowledge and inspiration to create some good or service that you will believe in.”

Creativity as a driver of innovation, confidence and wellbeing

Helen Eccleston, associate director of Edge Hill University’s Business School echoes these sentiments. She says: “This shift [placing creative subjects on equal footing with humanities] is significant because it shapes the capabilities students bring with them when they arrive to study business.

“In a context of slower economic growth and increasing constraints on global trade, creative thinking becomes even more critical. Firms are less able to rely on scale alone and must, instead, innovate to remain competitive. Pioneering activity drives growth by delivering world firsts and disruptive breakthroughs, opening new markets and redefining existing ones. Creativity underpins this capacity and is essential to sustaining the UK’s competitiveness in an increasingly uncertain global economy.”

Away from the economic importance and employment opportunities that studying creative subjects generate, the announced curriculum changes will undoubtedly have a positive, direct impact on students whilst in school too.

Organisations such as Made By Dyslexia have been championing creativity within the classroom for years, as arts-based subjects provide opportunities for all learners to excel and value diverse ways of thinking that traditional subjects may not always capture.

The arts as a foundation for lifelong growth

In an interview with Educate in 2023, Kate Griggs, founder of Made By Dyslexia, referenced the strengths often associated with dyslexic people that includes creativity, problem-solving and lateral thinking.

Engaging in creative subjects such as music and drama can also support students’ mental health, especially at a time when concerns among young people have been steadily increasing. Participating in arts-based subjects can foster joy, improve focus, and provide a constructive outlet for emotions, helping students manage the pressures of school life more effectively.

As Emily Reid discovered during the C-Change pilot project: “Subjects such as dance, drama and art cultivate cultures where failure is reframed as ‘failing forward’.”

The outlook of ‘failing forward’ promotes perseverance, confidence and a mindset that embraces innovation and risk-taking, attributes that provide a foundation for success across all areas of life.

At St John Bosco Arts College, winners of Outstanding Arts in Secondary School at the North West’s largest education awards, nurturing students’ gifts, dreams and talents plays a central role in shaping their overall development and preparation for life academically, spiritually, morally and socially.

A similar picture has emerged in grammar schools too, where investment in creative subjects challenges the perception that selective education prioritises traditional academic pathways.

The arts do not weaken standards, but strengthen them

As Simeon Clarke says: “We invest in the arts precisely because we are ambitious for our students. Academic excellence and creative excellence are not competing priorities; they are mutually reinforcing.

“We see students who are more articulate, more collaborative, and more willing to take intellectual risks. Importantly, this translates into strong academic outcomes alongside richer personal development and wellbeing.”

So, when considering if raising the status of creative subjects might reduce academic standards or whether the arts are essential for our young people, it is evident that the latter far outweighs any perceived risk.