Top image: Judith Beheading Holofernes (1598–1599) Caravaggio

It has been announced that the last exam board in England offering art history A-level will drop the subject from 2018, as reported by The Guardian. This controversial move marks the latest in a cull of perceived “soft” subjects following the curriculum changes first introduced by the former education secretary Michael Gove.

The decision has come under intense scrutiny since culls to art subjects were first announced by David Cameron’s Conservative government. In 2013 YBA artist Tracy Emin told The Independent, “If anyone thought the riots in 2011 were bad, take the arts out of the curriculum and it will be worse than it was before.” The Association of Art Historians also criticised the decision, calling it “a significant loss of access to a range of cultures, artefacts and ideas for young people.”

As Theresa May’s government plans more changes to the educational system, including bringing back grammar schools, what does this latest move say about how we value the arts, our cultural heritage and the creative industries in this country?