Where do artists first discover they're artists? In school, almost always – stumbling across the instrument they end up playing like a virtuoso, picking up the paintbrush that will eventually lead them to the Turner prize. But government cuts and curriculum changes have placed a question mark over arts in schools. Creative Partnerships, a scheme that saw musicians, actors and artists visit 2,500 schools every year, has been scrapped. And last December, the coalition announced that schools were to be assessed on subjects collectively known as "the English baccalaureate". This doesn't include music, art or drama.
So, if not in school, where will tomorrow's musicians, actors, dancers, directors and artists learn their craft? Step forward extracurricular arts groups. Three – the National Youth Choir, the National Youth Orchestra, and the National Youth Theatre – have been training young talent for decades. How do they do it? Who attends? And what do they get out of spending their holidays immersed in the arts? The Guardian's Laura Barnett spent a day with each to find out.
Read her observations here.
A worrying gulf
What struck me most about these youth groups? Two things: the enthusiasm of the teachers and the joy of the kids – joy in their subjects, joy in meeting others who feel the same way. It is especially stirring to see this at a time when so much is being said about the disaffection of the "lost generation". And these aren't stage-school brats. While private-school pupils still dominate, all three groups (especially NYT) are making a real effort to attract a wider range. What's also clear is that there is a gulf between arts opportunities at the average state school and those at an independent school like Shrewsbury, with its music wing stuffed with instruments. If that gulf continues to grow, we could see fewer state-school pupils even thinking of applying for groups like these. And that's a sad and worrying thought.
No comments:
Post a Comment