Britain has long punched above its weight creatively. We export actors, musicians, writers, designers, game developers, theatre and film-makers with astonishing regularity. Our West End is world-leading, British film studios attract Hollywood blockbusters and our musicians dominate global charts. Creative industries contribute over £125bn a year to the UK economy and employ more than two million people. Yet, this past week’s GCSE results reveal we now treat the arts in schools as an optional extra.

It is a strange contradiction. We celebrate our cultural success while dismantling the pipeline that made it possible. Since 2010, GCSE entries in arts subjects have fallen by around 50 per cent. Meanwhile, the number of A-level Music pupils has halved over the past 15 years, with warnings that the subject may disappear from many state schools. That should alarm anyone who cares about Britain’s future, not just those........

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