Commenting on Subject choice trends in post-16 education in England, a new NFER report commissioned by the British Academy, Niamh Sweeney, Deputy General Secretary of the National Education Union, said:
“It comes as no surprise to see the data confirm what teachers and support staff have seen in their workplaces over the past 14 years – a narrowing of the curriculum and a decrease in student engagement.
“De-coupling AS and A-Levels was widely criticised but Conservative governments ploughed ahead regardless, to the detriment of hundreds of thousands of students.
“When added to the creation of the EBacc at 16 – which has also inevitably narrowed the subjects students have taken pre-16 – and to the severe funding cuts schools and colleges have experienced in recent years, it should have been clear that the perfect policy storm was being created for stunting curriculum breadth.
“These consequences were foreseeable and avoidable but unfortunately for the students concerned, ideological dogma was prioritised over ensuring they could access the widest range of subjects possible.
“It is welcome that the new Government have invited their review panel to critique the current structures in order to help re-gain breadth in the curriculum and access to the arts, sciences, humanities and all other subjects, for all students. Only by eliminating the EBacc and facilitating a broader, more flexible post-16 route will this be achieved.”