Drama GCSE and A Level entries continue rapid depletion

Provisional figures for exam entries in England this summer were published by exams regulator Ofqual on Thursday, revealing that fewer pupils in England are studying drama and performing arts at GCSE and A Level. 

The stats

The number of students taking Drama GCSE in the UK has seen a decline of 39.4% since 2010, decreasing from 81,592 to only 49,410 entries to the subject.

This year, the GCSE Drama intake has decreased by 0.8%, compounding an existing decrease in arts uptake. 

A Level Drama is down by 5.8% this summer, decreasing from 8,385 to 7,895.

This is in line with a steady decline in A Level Drama uptake: entries in England have dropped by 45% between 2010 and 2023, from 15,144 students to 8,340.

One year is an anomaly to this trend: the number of UK Drama A Level students increased by 3% from 9645 in 2021 to 9,953 in 2022. This temporary uptick has anecdotally been put down to the impact of returning to in-person education post-Covid.

These statistics are in decline despite the provisional entries for GCSEs in England having gone up by 4.8% since last summer and for A Levels by 2.4%, in line with population growth.

Sector response

The Guardian reported that Paul Whiteman, the general secretary at the NAHT school leaders’ union, claimed that the decline in arts entires across the board was linked to government performance measures.

‘The government has used high-stakes performance measures as a blunt tool to drive curriculum and qualification choices in schools,’ Whiteman said. ‘While entries inevitably vary each year, this may explain the concerning decline in take-up of arts GCSEs, which has a knock-on effect when it comes to choices for sixth-form and college students.’

The National Education Union’s general secretary, Daniel Kebede, commented on the statistics, calling the decline ‘catastrophic’. He added: “Just this week, the government made another attack on the arts in education with its damaging, inaccurate rhetoric around degrees in these subjects.’ 

‘With young people hearing this, and schools and colleges both underfunded and constrained in the subjects they can offer thanks to wrong-headed, inaccurate performance metrics like the Ebacc, it’s no wonder entries in arts subjects have almost halved since 2010,’ he said.

Co-chair of the Drama and Theatre Education Alliance (DTEA), Steve Ball, commented on the news: 'The continued decline in exam entries in drama and performing arts at GCSE and A Level causes serious concern. It’s ironic that the Government champions the Creative Industries, which are the fastest growing sector of the economy, while simultaneously devaluing creative subjects in schools.'

More representatives from the sector have been approached for comments.