Responding to the report – entitled Requires improvement: urgent change for 11–16 education – Dr Patrick Roach, General Secretary of NASUWT – The Teachers’ Union, said:

“In contrast to the Government’s stated ambition for an Advanced British Standard, the reality is that we have a system failing to provide core entitlements for pupils.

“Of particular concern is the fact that as more schools prioritise the EBacc, subjects excluded from its curriculum become marginalised at Key Stage 4. Art, RE, drama and PE are too often now relocated to extracurricular plans rather than remaining a core part of many schools' learning offers to older pupils.

“Ministers need to be taking action to tackle the narrowing of the curriculum and the loss of dedicated time for creative and practical subjects.

“Rishi Sunak may be concerned with the number of 16 - 18 year olds studying maths and English, but in order to build a world-class education system, his attention is also needed urgently elsewhere.”