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News #SaveOurSubjects campaign submits open letter to DfE On 19 July, the #SaveOurSubjects campaign handed in a signed letter to the Department for Education (DfE) and Gillian Keegan, the education secretary, calling on the government to review and reform school accountability measures including Progress 8. #SaveOurSubject handing the signed open letter to a DfE representative The movement was launched in February by independent education charity Edge Foundation and non-union representative body for musicians the Independent Society of Musicians (ISM). The open letter, which has gained 1,100 signatures from those who work in the creative industries, parents, teachers and more, has asked the DfE for three things: § To review the impact of accountability measures (such as the EBacc and Progress 8) on arts and technology subjects § To reform the Progress 8 accountability measure, giving pupils more freedom of choice at GCSE § To deliver the Arts Premium promised in the Conservatives’ 2019 election manifesto. The movement targets the dramatic fall in those taking arts and technology GCSE and A Levels, and warns that access to arts and technology subjects are being limited to students who can afford to study them privately and wants to address this inequity. The letter hand-in comes as the Labour Party announces it would reform Progress 8 if elected to ensure students can ‘enjoy music, sport, art, drama, and develop the knowledge and skills they need to thrive throughout life’. Edge chief executive, Alice Barnard said that Edge has long been calling for a broader and more balanced curriculum that ‘develops the skills young people need to become well-rounded individuals and productive members of society.’ IT TER TW IA VIC _MUS ISM , @ ISM COURTESY National Theatre launches Speak Up youth council Speak Up, the National Theatre’s secondary school programme that provides young people with the chance to explore issues that matter to them, has launched its first youth council. The council, consisting of young people from 11 areas across the UK, will help shape the future of the Speak Up project. A selection of motions that were proposed by the council in the inaugural meeting include the suggestion of a restorative day planned by and for teachers, including artist workshops, market stall sessions, sharing best practice and legacy discussions. Other proposals include annual regional meet-ups for all partner regions, teachers, artists and A Speak Up youth council meeting young people, that all Speak Up areas should make a piece of art about how ‘we’re different and the same’, and that all Speak Up partners and participants learn BSL in order to communicate HUNT BECCA better with one another. The Speak Up Council Student Representatives are: § Doncaster: Chloe (co-chair), Tiffany, Veronica § Greater Manchester: Alisa, Amelia, Isabelle § Outer East London and South Essex: Gladness, Pipeloluwa § Leicester: Isobel, Jaspreet § Sunderland: Lola, Oliver § Wakefield: Connie, John § Wolverhampton: Brooklyn, Aaravjiv Representatives from North Devon and Stoke will be involved later in the programme. One of the council reps, Amelia, called the group a ‘very accepting’ and ‘diverse community’. In November, the Speak Up Council will meet in person to see the National Theatre’s backstage, the archive and a live show. Find out more at nationaltheatre.org.uk/news/ speak-up-youth-council/ 6 Drama & Theatre Autumn Term 1 2023/24 www.dramaandtheatre.co.uk
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News Ockham’s Razor offers free Tess of the D’Urberville school workshops Circus theatre company Ockham’s Razor has announced a new adaptation of Hardy’s Tess of the D’Urbervilles, offering schools free accompanying workshops and teacher resource packs. curriculum, and is also relevant to drama students at both GCSE and A Level stages. Touring the UK from October 2023 to April 2024, Tess will present the well-known story of power, loss and endurance through a feminist lens. The workshops will explore devising techniques and the themes of the show, and in some areas a pre-show discussion with academics will be offered to students too. Tess of the D’Urbervilles is included in the A Level English The ensemble of circus performers is made up of a diverse cast, featuring a female actress and female circus performer who both portray the character of Tess. This will be the first production from Ockham’s Razor that has been based on a novel; the script has been written using Hardy’s own words, alongside advice from acclaimed novelist and screenwriter Anne Marie Casey. Produced by Turtle Key Arts, the performance is set to depict the physical labour of the novel, wielding wooden planks, shifting walls, ropes and swathes of linen that members of the circus troupe balance upon, climb and construct – a devising technique that will be discussed thoroughly in its accompanying school workshops. The story remains relevant for contemporary audiences, exploring questions of privilege, class, consent, agency, female desire and sisterhood. On the project, directors Alex Harvey and Charlotte Mooney say: ‘One of the surprises in the creation of Tess is how much joy and humour there is to find in the novel and the staging. There is a seam of joy in there which is captured by the play and collaboration of the ensemble.’ To find out more and to book a workshop contact charlotte@turtlekeyarts.org.uk or phone 020 8964 5060. ockhamsrazor.co.uk Arts in Schools report calls for ‘major overhaul’ of education system A New Direction and the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation have published the ‘Arts in Schools: Foundations for the Future’ report, asking policymakers and schools to place greater value to the role of the arts as part of a rethink of England’s state education system. / С В Е Т Л А Н А Л А З А Р Е Н К О STOCK ADOBE The report assesses policy developments since ‘The Arts in Schools: Principles, Practice and Provision’, which was the last influential Gulbenkian report, released in 1982. This initial release helped secure the arts’ place in the National Curriculum and contributed to the addition of education teams in multiple cultural organisations. The newest report features a range or research, including a series of roundtable discussions with the heads of schools and multi-academy trusts, teachers, academics, arts educators and young people. The findings suggest that the arts are ‘vital for young people’s intellectual and personal development, but are marginalised in today’s school system, which itself requires a major overhaul.’ The report’s authors and partners have a number of requests: § Policy makers are asked to reconsider the status of arts in schools as part of a major re-evaluation of the English education system. § Schools are encouraged to embrace the arts, and to value their unique contribution to children and young people’s education, development and wellbeing. § The report also suggests that arts organisations should ensure their resources can be made easily available and relevant to schools (including online), and responsive to their needs, including by opening up opportunities through work experiences and apprenticeships. § Parents are encouraged to send the report to their children’s schools, the chair of governors or headteachers. National Drama has responded to the report with a full statement, saying: ‘Drama, as an art form, can be transformational for children, young people and their teachers when they engage in a process that explores what it is to be human. Why does it not receive the same curriculum recognition as other arts?’ anewdirection. org.uk/the-arts-in-schools www.dramaandtheatre.co.uk Autumn Term 1 2023/24 Drama & Theatre 7

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News

#SaveOurSubjects campaign submits open letter to DfE On 19 July, the #SaveOurSubjects campaign handed in a signed letter to the Department for Education (DfE) and Gillian Keegan, the education secretary, calling on the government to review and reform school accountability measures including Progress 8.

#SaveOurSubject handing the signed open letter to a DfE representative

The movement was launched in February by independent education charity Edge Foundation and non-union representative body for musicians the Independent Society of Musicians (ISM).

The open letter, which has gained 1,100 signatures from those who work in the creative industries, parents, teachers and more, has asked the DfE for three things: § To review the impact of accountability measures (such as the EBacc and Progress 8) on arts and technology subjects § To reform the Progress 8

accountability measure, giving pupils more freedom of choice at GCSE § To deliver the Arts Premium promised in the Conservatives’ 2019 election manifesto. The movement targets the dramatic fall in those taking arts and technology GCSE and A Levels, and warns that access to arts and technology subjects are being limited to students who can afford to study them privately and wants to address this inequity.

The letter hand-in comes as the Labour Party announces it would reform Progress 8 if elected to ensure students can ‘enjoy music, sport, art, drama, and develop the knowledge and skills they need to thrive throughout life’.

Edge chief executive, Alice Barnard said that Edge has long been calling for a broader and more balanced curriculum that ‘develops the skills young people need to become well-rounded individuals and productive members of society.’

IT TER

TW

IA

VIC

_MUS

ISM

, @

ISM

COURTESY

National Theatre launches Speak Up youth council

Speak Up, the National Theatre’s secondary school programme that provides young people with the chance to explore issues that matter to them, has launched its first youth council.

The council, consisting of young people from 11 areas across the UK, will help shape the future of the Speak Up project.

A selection of motions that were proposed by the council in the inaugural meeting include the suggestion of a restorative day planned by and for teachers, including artist workshops, market stall sessions, sharing best practice and legacy discussions.

Other proposals include annual regional meet-ups for all partner regions, teachers, artists and

A Speak Up youth council meeting young people, that all Speak Up areas should make a piece of art about how ‘we’re different and the same’, and that all Speak Up partners and participants learn BSL in order to communicate

HUNT

BECCA

better with one another.

The Speak Up Council Student Representatives are: § Doncaster: Chloe (co-chair),

Tiffany, Veronica § Greater Manchester: Alisa,

Amelia, Isabelle § Outer East London and South

Essex: Gladness, Pipeloluwa § Leicester: Isobel, Jaspreet § Sunderland: Lola, Oliver § Wakefield: Connie, John § Wolverhampton: Brooklyn,

Aaravjiv Representatives from North Devon and Stoke will be involved later in the programme. One of the council reps, Amelia, called the group a ‘very accepting’ and ‘diverse community’.

In November, the Speak Up Council will meet in person to see the National Theatre’s backstage, the archive and a live show.

Find out more at nationaltheatre.org.uk/news/ speak-up-youth-council/

6 Drama & Theatre Autumn Term 1 2023/24

www.dramaandtheatre.co.uk

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