Interview with the Labour Leader on importance of Arts in Primary Schools
Kier Starmer was a talented teenage flautist and could become our most musical Prime Minister since Edward Heath. He tells The Times why he’d have Beethoven in his cabinet.
He doesn’t play [the flute] any more – there are too many other things in his life. When Starmer listens to classical music today, which composers inspire him the most? “I suppose Beethoven has always been the one I’ve been most passionate about.” … Isn’t is a bit dangerous these days for a politician to admit to liking an art-form as supposedly “elitist” as classical music? “I don’t agree at all with the idea that some art forms aren’t for everybody” Starmer exclaims.
“It’s a big mistake to think that certain arts are the preserve of one class but not another. All the arts should be open to everyone. But that means starting at primary school, because by not having music and arts and drama properly valued there we have seen fewer young people doing these subjects at GCSE, and therefore fewer going into the cultural professions. It’s very difficult for a child to aspire to something they know noting about.”
Does he believe that when it comes to excelling in the arts, state school children are disadvantaged compared with their privately educated counterparts? “Of course”, he replies. “Only about 6 per cent of children are privately educated, but they win 40 per cent of all the major British film, music and stage awards. And the gap is getting bigger, it’s not that we shouldn’t celebrate the people who do win awards, because they are fantastic, but we need to be honest. We are denying too many children the opportunity to develop their talents.”
The very primary school in which we are sitting has a budget of about £1 million a year, yet spends just £1,000 of it – 0.1 per cent – on music, such are the other demands on its resources. It doesn’t even own the ukuleles the kids play – they are brought in once a week by the ukulele teacher.
….”the arts are often denigrated when they ought to be held up high. Britain is very good at them. We lead the world. The soft power there is huge. The economic contribution is massive. So the arts need to be valued for those reasons, as well as for the life skills – the confidence, the working together as a team – they give to young people. ”
Author/ Interviewer: Richard Morrison
Extracted from the full article published in The Times, March 14th 2024
