Actress Julie Hesmondhalgh was right to express her concerns that arts education is seen as a luxury (“Soap star attacks school arts funding ‘conspiracy’”, News). Her comments were in response to the findings of the Durham Commission on Creativity and Education, which reported concerns about the reduction of the status of arts subjects, including art and design, dance, drama and music, within schools following the introduction of the English baccalaureate in secondary education.
With regards to music in particular, the all-party parliamentary group for music education’s report, Music Education: State of Nation, demonstrates how the narrow range of Ebacc subjects has prevented students from studying at some secondary schools; music is no longer taught at key stage 3 in more than half of state-funded secondary schools.
By her admission, Hesmondhalgh was not born into financial privilege but into state privilege, where she had access to creative subjects in her state school. If the Ebacc policy is not to be scrapped, we hope the Department for Education takes notice of her example and of the advice of the Durham commission, and extends the Ebacc to include a sixth pillar for arts subjects. Otherwise, access to a well-rounded education and its benefits will be the preserve of the privileged few.
Deborah Annetts, chief executive
Incorporated Society of Musicians
London W2
Julie Hesmondhalgh is right. What gets kids up in the morning? “I’ve got PE today or art” or something creative to balance up the subjects they are less confident with. Kids are active and don’t we know it! They like doing things and gaining confidence and as a teacher I have seen this so many times.
Children find what they are good at, confidence grows and this floods over into all their work. They need the creative subjects to balance up the academic curriculum. As less than 50% go on to university one could make the point that for the other half an academic curriculum is inappropriate.
The Tories are starving education of funds. It is quite deliberate – they want people to pay for their music, art, craft, drama, PE, which cuts out the poorer section of society.
Peter Branford
Birch Green, Hertford, Herts
Sneering won’t save planet
Catherine Bennett’s criticism of Extinction Rebellion’s tactics is very clever but offers nothing useful in the way of suggestions about alternative means of raising public consciousness (“The Extinction Rebels have a noble cause. What they don’t need now is tactical stupidity”, Comment).
I am white, middle class, well educated and affluent. I’ve devoted all of my time in the past six months and a considerable amount of money in legal and other costs to the Extinction Rebellion campaign. Could Catherine Bennett or anyone who shares her views please explain: (a) why they think it is helpful or reasonable to sneer at my sacrifices; (b) what they think could be done to attract a different demographic to the cause; and (c) why the people from those demographics who are not doing what they can to bring about change should themselves be exempt from criticism?
Chris Neill
Godalming, Surrey
Inspired by Manchester
With respect to “The big picture” (New Review), photographer Simon Buckley was right in saying that “it appeals to the essence of what people believe Manchester is”. However, as another northerner, I would suggest that Stephen Fry looks further back to LS Lowry’s teacher, Adolphe Valette, whose “Manchester-scapes” are a better precedent for Buckley’s stunning photograph.
Christine Hawkes
Cambridge
In Sussex, fireworks rock
It is eventually time to have a go at fireworks again (“We all ooh and aah, bug isn’t everyone sick of fireworks now?”, Comment). I don’t like the thought of pets being frightened by bangers but it is the responsibility of owners to keep their pets safe during bonfire season. Bonfire is a very important matter here in Sussex. The bonfire societies are a wonderful way for children and young people to learn responsibility and they help ensure that a wonderful time is had in Lewes on 5 November. We are remembering a very important moment in our history and having fun as well. Why does everything have to be sanitised? Long may we be allowed to continue.
Polly Cranfield
Barcombe, Lewes
To Jacob Rees-Mogg (not esq)
Nick Cohen reminded us of Jacob Rees-Mogg’s egregious instruction to his staff always to put “esq” when addressing an envelope to a man (“The great men theory of history is no more. Meet the catastrophic men…” Comment). Ha! It just proves how phoney he is. No, Mr Rees-Mogg, a man is only an esquire if he is of a certain birth. You would have to check with Debrett’s to get the full requirements.
Antonia Till
London N1
Why I voted Leave
Will Hutton, I am a working-class guy from a northern city and I completely disagree with you (“We marched with hope but few expectations. Yet history will side with us”, Comment). The reason I voted Leave wasn’t some misty-eyed imperial nostalgia or groundless faith. It was a hard-nosed “what’s in it for me?” assessment of where my best interests lie. And the answer is as far away from European integration as possible.
You say leaving the EU will devastate the north and trash our economy? I say it already has. Automation took half the jobs so, given the labour market is already difficult, how does it help my prospects if uncontrolled immigration adds 600,000 people every year? Likewise for housing, school places, hospital appointments...
Every service and resource is stretched further because the parliament supposed to represent and protect our citizens cares more about keeping big corporations happy with low taxes and a steady flow of cheap labour.
Is it any wonder we hate them? Is it any wonder we want to put control of our lives back in our own hands and not in some Brussels office under a foreigner we neither know nor can remove from power? You say half the country didn’t vote for Brexit and that we should have a confirmatory vote to leave, but half the country did vote to leave and will do again. Remainers won’t quit and neither will Leavers, so the cycle of deadlock and national decay will only continue. One side has to win conclusively or this will never end without bloodshed and sorrow.
Dan Rainey
Hull
Bang the drum for Poland
Further to your article about the BBC series World on Fire and Poland’s role in history (“Britain’s Poles hope war drama will reclaim their past”, Focus), I would like to draw your attention to two other watersheds that are often overlooked. They are the siege of Vienna in 1683 and the battle of Warsaw in 1920.
The centenary of the latter, fought during the Polish-Soviet war, is imminent. Its historical and political significance has been conveniently forgotten by many, yet it saw a near-defeated Polish army turn the tables on the Red Army. It was the only land defeat suffered by the Soviet army in the 20th century. In both cases, Poland twice saved Europe from unwelcome invaders.
BK Polachowski
Greasby, Wirral
