A group of prominent actors, artists and authors have praised Labour’s proposal to instil more creativity in the school curriculum, saying the arts currently risk being “a pursuit that only the most privileged can follow”.
The open letter, signed by Grayson Perry, Olivia Colman, Simon Rattle, Adrian Lester and Patrick Stewart, follows Keir Starmer’s pledge to reprioritise creativity and other “human” skills in a world of artificial intelligence.
Announcing the plan at a speech in Kent, Starmer said a Labour government would mandate students to study a creative subject, or sport, to the age of 16, in a pushback against recent years of ministerial edicts urging a focus on vocational skills.
The letter has been signed by more than 100 people, including the actors Lesley Manville, Anna Maxwell Martin, Rafe Spall and Josette Bushell-Mingo, the authors Philip Pullman and David Baddiel, the soprano Susan Bullock, the artists Isaac Julien and Eva Rothschild, the sculptor Antony Gormley and the designer Thomas Heatherwick.
The signatories call creativity “an essential part of human expression”.
The letter said: “Creativity drives innovation, progress and personal fulfilment. It is through creativity that young minds can explore their imaginations, develop critical thinking skills and cultivate empathy. Should not every child have this opportunity?
“As leaders in the arts and creative sector, we believe the answer to this is an unequivocal yes. For too long, the creative arts have been squeezed out of the mainstream curriculum and have become a pursuit that only the most privileged can follow.”
The case for more arts education is based not just on personal expression, but economics, the group argued: “The creative sector is worth billions to the economy and is one of the UK’s most successful and best-loved exports.”
In his speech, Starmer said there needed to be a move away from “the new fashion that every kid should be a coder”, given the rise of AI, also calling for schools to teach students to be confident and eloquent public speakers.
The move to shore up study of the arts was “fundamental to the development of children and our industry”, the letter said.
“We also welcome Labour ensuring that schools’ accountability takes account of creativity and the arts, so brilliant teachers know that their teaching is worthwhile.”
The signatories said they expected a Labour government to devote resources to libraries, youth clubs and leisure centres, saying the closures of such facilities “have dealt a severe blow to the pursuit of enriching extracurricular activities”.
