According to the JQC, 5493 students sat A Level Music this year compared to 5916 in 2022. Numbers were down in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, but the biggest decline was recorded in England, by round the same percentage amount for the UK.
In 2022 there was a slight uptick in the number of Music entries, reflecting a 4.2% increase across all A Levels and a 2.4% increase in the 18-year-old cohort. This now proves to have been a temporary blip.
As a percentage of all A Level entries, Music is also down, from around 0.7% during 2019–22 to 0.63% according to analysis by professor Martin Fautley at Birmingham City University. Of all subjects, Music and Drama have seen the largest falls, while Maths and Chemistry saw the greatest gains.
Long-term decline
According to analysis by the ISM, Music entries have fallen 45% since 2010, when the English Baccalaureate (EBacc) was introduced. The EBacc, which excludes all arts subjects, and the accountability measure Progress 8 are seen as the causes of falling numbers of students taking A Level Music and of the number of schools able to offer this. This was highlighted in the ISM’s report Music: A subject in peril? (2022).
Of the latest figures, ISM chief executive Deborah Annetts said: ‘The evidence is now overwhelming that the government needs to reform accountability measures in England which are marginalising arts subjects in our schools. All students deserve access to high-quality music education.’
Research undertaken by academics from Royal Birmingham Conservatoire and Birmingham City University has highlighted the decline in A Level entries and patchy provision across the country, with areas such as the Midlands providing very limited provision. Dr Adam Whittaker and Martin Fautley have warned that if the current rate of decline continues, A Level Music is likely to have zero entries by 2033.
