Strengthening our creative capital: AccessHE Creative HE Apply Guide 2018 launch

Strengthening our creative capital

Over the past year, a group of AccessHE member institutions have supported the development of an exciting new resource – the AccessHE Creative HE Apply Guide 2018. The Guide has been designed to support students to discover and apply to a range of creative higher education courses, including art, dance, design, drama, music, technical theatre and more.

This launch event will include a roundtable discussion exploring the question: How open are creative courses and careers in London? We hope to examine the current state of access for under-represented groups in this area and share ideas and practice for how we can strengthen our creative capital.

We welcome attendance from HE staff and students, teachers and school or college staff, and other organisations supporting access to arts education and the creative industries.

Monday 9 July 2018   |   1-4pm   |   Urdang Academy, Clerkenwell

Background

The introduction of the English Baccalaureate (EBacc) in 2010, together with the 2015 decision to make EBacc subjects compulsory in secondary schools and ongoing funding pressures, has led to the prioritisation of Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) subjects at the expense of others – particularly the Creative Arts. Right now, young people in schools across the country are finding themselves unable to study arts subjects at GCSE and instead must fuel their passion outside of the classroom and often at great expense – placing those from low income backgrounds at a disadvantage.

If these young people are not being encouraged to study the arts at GCSE and/or cannot fund their passions, this will have (and is having) a knock-on effect in sixth forms and colleges: without having studied creative arts subjects at A Level or equivalent, students are struggling to demonstrate and evidence the right skills for studying these at higher education level. Moreover, there is a danger that those students applying for such courses are only those from certain backgrounds where there is a long-standing tradition and/or parental funding to support. Without a pipeline of suitable, trained talent, you can begin to appreciate the huge impact this change will have on the creative industries in London.

A call for action to strengthen creative London

As part of AccessHE Week 2018, the aims for this event are twofold:

• •  To launch the AccessHE Creative HE Apply Guide, created in collaboration with our Creative Network, offering information and support for learners interested in applying to creative HE courses.
• •  To offer a roundtable with input from key organisations to discuss how we can collaborate to strengthen a diverse talent pipeline for the creative industries in London.