In recent years, there has been a growing trend, perpetuated by the previous Conservative governments, where Maths and STEM subjects have been promoted above humanities subjects – in 2023, Rishi Sunak announced plans to ensure that all students in England would study Maths until 18 years old. He argued that the world is underpinned by statistics and data, and that students should feel confident with their finances after they leave school. According to the BBC, there were no plans revealed for students who wished to study humanities or creative arts qualifications, which demonstrates the way in which humanities subjects have been neglected. This is further emphasised by the cuts in funding for humanities and arts degrees – universities have responded to this by cutting the amount of humanities courses available. These degrees are considered by Ministers to be “low-skilled” or “low-value” – but is this actually true?
It’s clear that the growing industry of technology is significant for humanity’s continued advancements, however, those who believe that there is no value in humanities subjects are wrong. It’s no secret that there’s a huge variation in subjects students choose at A-Level – some are dedicated STEM students, and others some are passionate about the humanities, but both deserve the same amount of respect. Of course, Economics, Business and the Sciences have important roles to play in today’s society. However, in a scenario demonstrated best by the 2020 lockdown, the arts are what keep us going. Where would you be if you couldn’t watch your favourite television show because it didn’t exist? Or if you couldn’t read your favourite book? Even your favourite music wouldn’t exist. The people who made these were once students, perhaps they studied English Literature, Film and TV, Drama, or Music, or Music production. The people who created the marketing and posters studied graphic design. Furthermore, imagine if diplomats weren’t encouraged to learn about other languages – they’d be unable to communicate and do their jobs properly. Even to say that most jobs are underpinned by data and statistics isn’t necessarily true – companies have different departments and hire people with different areas of expertise. There are writers and actors, artists and musicians, even secondary school teachers who are experts in their own fields like History or English.
The world that we live in is inundated with things that bring us joy, that wouldn’t exist without the creative geniuses behind them, and to push these people into a subject that they wouldn’t thrive in is a waste of talent.
There’s a quote in the movie The Dead Poets Society that illustrates this perfectly – we don’t create art because it’s cute. We do so because we are members of the human race: “Medicine, Law, Business and engineering, these are noble pursuits and necessary to sustain life. But poetry, beauty, romance, love, these are what we stay alive for.” To say that humanities subjects are “low-value” highlights a fundamental misunderstanding of the nature of humanity, and those who promote this mindset almost certainly have their own favourite television series or film. The humanities are arguably subjects of passion.
Those who agree to make maths compulsory forget that GCSEs are supposed to cover the basics of the subject anyway, and that under Michael Gove their curriculums had already faced changes to make them more rigorous. A-Levels, therefore, reflect a student’s passion due to their in-depth curriculums. Students who enjoy their subjects tend to do better due to finding it more interesting and wanting to spend more time learning. If you’d ask me, I’d say to keep letting GCSEs provide the basics for mathematics, and encourage creative subjects that teach critical thinking, how to write clearly and effectively, and allow students to test the limits of their creativity. The argument for finances, taxes, and mortgage education could be made for the subject of PSHE education, which secondary schools could utilise to teach students all of these skills comprehensively. If schools were funded better, this could be made a core part of secondary education so that parents can be confident that their children are receiving adequate education for when they grow up.
It’s true that everyone should be reasonably familiar with Maths, however, not everyone needs to know the subject in the same amount of depth that an A-Level or post-18 study would provide. To prevent the need for post-18 maths study, PSHE could be more detailed to equip students for the future, so that students aren’t only given an hour during their years at secondary school to learn about how to handle their finances. Perhaps the Government could fund an online course for schools to give their students to learn in their own time, so that those who aren’t as mathematically inclined don’t have to stress about the A-Level grade impacting their chances of going to university.
Maths is undoubtedly one of the most important subjects we can learn at school, but e. Even though everyone needs to know the basics, not everyone needs the depth of knowledge that an A-Level would provide them with. A-Levels are taken because students are passionate about that subject, and to force students to take subjects that would cause them more stress than benefit them would be doing them a disservice