COMPLAINTS have been made about Queen Elizabeth’s School in Crediton concerning the recent introduction of its own brand of English Baccalaureate.

It resulted in letters of complaint, a petition signed by 240 people, including students and parents, expressing their concern at what one parent, Andrew Vaccari described in a letter to QE, as a “half-baked” solution “at the expense of the arts”.

The QE solution, he said, enables some students to take the less than rigorous Art and Design course (a non GCSE) but at the expense of having to drop a modern foreign language.

He said: This goes against the governments requirements of the core subjects as a modern foreign language must be taken.”

He added that he was concerned: “because of QE’s insistence to impose an unnatural set of GCSE subjects.

“Last year’s Year 9’s had the option to take at least two expressive arts subjects. This year it has been cut back to just one.

Rupert Poole, Principal, Queen Elizabeth’s School, in an open reply, said: “We strongly believe in the arts and creativity as an essential ingredient in our curriculum.

“QE have therefore set up the options process to encourage more students to study a creative subject - arts or technology. We review our curriculum offer every year and every year the guiding principle is to ensure all students have access to a broad and balanced curriculum.

“This year we launched the options process on December 3, 2015. Since then we have had three further evening events for all our parents and students to give advice and explanation.

“We understand that it is a big transition and that is why we dedicate the time to help students and their parents make their decision. In addition, as a school we are always available for personal meetings to give help and advice on any topic involving a child’s learning and welfare.

“We totally agree with the sentiment in Mr Vaccari’s letter that we must make sure arts and technology subjects are supported in our schools. It is for this reason that we have in fact actively encouraged, through the options process, more students to study an arts or technology subject.

“As Mr Vaccari rightly says, QE is fantastic. We are fantastic in many ways; one of which is the fact that we have specialist teachers in all subject areas across the curriculum. For this reason we have designed a curriculum that supports our students to gain that specialist knowledge, not just in arts but in all subject areas.

“The change we have introduced is due to the introduction of more demanding GCSEs. I totally support the introduction of these more rigorous GCSEs; it is essential that we as a nation raise our game if we are to remain globally competitive, and the creative industries are as significant as any in that regard. I only wish the government was supporting the increase in demand with an appropriate increase in investment in our schools, but that is a slightly different issue.

“The new GCSEs have more content. The new grading system from one to nine demonstrates the intention to make them much more difficult, fewer children will be awarded the top grade of a nine rather than the current A*, and the bar has been raised at each and every level. Given the outstanding number of QE students that achieve at the very highest level we decided it would be a huge disservice our students, and indeed our teachers, to continue to deliver these new GCSEs within the same time allocation as in the past.

“It is this careful and considered decision that has driven the changes in our curriculum model. It is nothing to do with the league tables associated with the English Baccalaureate.

“QE has not (never has and never will) designed a curriculum purely to meet the various league table measures. We are guided by what is right for each student, and we work hard to respond to individual requests and timetables, even if it means losing points on some league table measure.

“We think religious education (RE) is hugely valuable and an essential ingredient of a broad and balanced education. It helps students understand the ever more complex world we are living in. We actually call it ‘Beliefs and Values’ for good reason and all students will now sit a GCSE in the subject. “We are delivering it over three years, starting in year 9, so the teaching of RE in year 10 and 11 does not limit the students choices elsewhere.

“This is a multi-faceted issue, and one that must not be seen through the single prism of the arts, or indeed any other subject. It is our job to provide a balanced curriculum that will support all students to succeed now and in the future.”

Alan Quick