On 3 January, the schools standards minister Nick Gibb issued a response to Julian Lloyd Webber's letter in The Times, in which Lloyd Webber rightly decried that ‘too many children are denied the joy of classical music’.
I cannot imagine having the gall to seriously suggest that there isn't a problem with music education in the UK because ‘all primary schools can sign up to the Classical 100, a free resource developed by ABRSM, Classic FM and Decca’, yet this is exactly what Gibb did. The Classical 100 is a great initiative that schools should get involved with, but it's not a replacement for a comprehensive, state-funded music curriculum. As with many things since 2010, this government is content to allow others to cover for its failures, taking advantage of the passion that musicians have for their art and their desire to see that passion lit in others.
Gibb also points out that, ‘through the Music and Dance Scheme’, several hundred students were given the opportunity to study at top conservatoires and music schools. Such moves, while of immense benefit to the individual, only help a small proportion of students and only further the gulf between those with access and those without. As someone who was raised on a council estate by a single mum on benefits before getting a bursary place at an independent school, I feel confident in saying that it's not the answer to deep structural inequality. You weren't allowed to take GCSE music at my school if you didn't study an instrument and that cost extra. In the end, I had to drop music and only returned when I was able to teach myself. If your system means that low-waged and unwaged parents must suffer to pay for their children's music education, then you don't care about music education at all.
While Gibb is technically correct when he says that ‘music is a compulsory part of the curriculum for five to 14-years-old [sic]’ this ignores the reality that academies do not have to abide by the national curriculum. Instead, they are supposed to provide a ‘broad and balanced’ curriculum – it's funny that many of them have interpreted this to mean that they can do away with music and the arts more generally. It's disappointing that our government ministers choose to ignore prominent voices in music education because it sends a message that they're probably not going to listen to teachers without Lloyd Webber's profile. Disappointing, but not surprising.
You can read Gibb's full statement at tinyurl.com/mt2-editorial. Lloyd Webber's letter can be found behind a paywall at tinyurl.com/mt2-editorial2.
