Silent victory for ABacc campaign

Government proposals for introducing an ‘ABacc’ measure to monitor schools’ achievement at A level have been quietly changed, without announcement or a statement in Parliament, to enable an arts or creative subject to be included. Initial proposals stipulated that school performance was to be measured by the number of students achieving AAB grades at A-level in the EBacc subjects only, as these were viewed by the Department for Education as the subjects that facilitate university entrance. But this measure has been changed to require only two of three A Levels to be from the approved list. The Bacc for the Future campaign, which successfully influenced a Government change of heart over its EBacc proposal at GCSE level, continues to lobby for the ABacc to include arts subjects as part of the approved subject lists, or for it to be dropped completely so that creative subjects remain equally valued within the curriculum.