Plans to remove creative subjects from the UK curriculum are “short-sighted insanity” and “one of the biggest mistakes in British government” according to incoming D&AD president Neville Brody.
In September, education secretary Michael Gove announced plans to replace GCSE examinations for students up to the age of 16 with a new . Creative subjects such as art and design will not count towards the EBacc qualifications, which instead are graded on performance in “stem” subjects - ie English, mathematics, history or geography, the sciences and a language.
Brody fears the changes will discourage students from studying subjects, leading to the closure of some UK art schools and a decline of the creative industries.
As part of his one-year D&AD presidency, Brody will launch a new initiative called the D&AD Foundation, which will lobby on behalf of design education, and raise funds for design students and courses.
He says: “The proportion of our influence creatively compared to the size of the country is massive, so the D&AD foundation that we’re launching in January, will hopefully start to attract and redirect funds from the creative industry, and from the corporate world that needs the creative industry, and funnel that back into the grassroots of developing opportunity including .”
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