The focus on the EBacc and academic study is driving down music provision in many schools, campaigners say. Dorothy Lepkowska looks at the challenges facing music education

Britain’s rich musical tradition cannot be denied. This was the country that gave the world The Beatles, Andrew Lloyd-Webber and Benjamin Britten, to name but a few. But where future generations of musicians, composers and singers will come from remains a subject for debate and, for some, notable concern.

This is because there are fears that music education has become, at worst, non-existent in many state schools. The subject is not listed in the government’s English Baccalaureate (EBacc), the league table measure that has become a key priority for ministers and which only contains traditional, academic subjects among its qualifying GCSEs.

But even putting that aside, there is a national shortage of specialist music teachers and less and less time is being devoted to the subject on school timetables.

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