The number of secondary school students taking art and design qualifications in the UK has fallen to the lowest level this century, the latest GCSE results show.
Exam results published today reveal a four per cent drop in students sitting art and design exams, and a more than ten per cent drop in students taking design and technology subjects.
Samantha Cairns, co-director of the Cultural Learning Alliance, described the latest figures as alarming.
"We are alarmed about the impact of continuing drops in the numbers of arts GCSEs being studied on children's education," she said. "This year's arts GCSE entries showed the greatest falls for over a decade."
The latest figures come amid rising concern at what many see as the marginalisation of creative subjects in schools, and the resulting year-on-year fall in the number of students taking exams in these topics. This year, 175,792 students took design and technology subjects ? a drop of 10.5 per cent compared to last year and less than half the numbers recorded at the turn of the century. The number has fallen each year since 2003.

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The number taking art and design courses is also at the lowest level this century, with 175,792 taking the subject this year compared to 183,085 last year ? down 3.98 per cent. By contrast, over 200,000 students took these subjects in the...