A new report from the Sutton Trust has found that young people from working-class backgrounds are less likely to study creative subjects than their wealthier counterparts, with those from affluent, upper-middle class backgrounds subsequently overrepresented in the arts industry.
While only 7 per cent of people educated in the UK attend private schools, 43 per cent of Britain’s best-selling classical musicians and 35 per cent of Bafta-nominated actors were privately-educated.
Pop stars seem to better reflect the backgrounds of the UK population; only 8 per were privately educated and 20 per cent university-educated, both proportions close to the national averages.
The charity also flagged that creative degrees in subjects such as music and art at the most prestigious institutions were taken by a disproportionately high number of students from upper middle-class backgrounds. At Oxford, Cambridge, King’s College London, and Bath, more than half of students on creative courses come from the most elite upper-middle class backgrounds.
Many talented young people from poorer homes are blocked from highly sought after careers in the arts
The report read: “There are clear class inequalities in creative higher education and the creative workforce, with high-profile creative figures in fields like television more likely to have attended private school and university than the population overall.”
“This impacts the kinds of stories that are told and produced, with those in more privileged and well-connected social circles sharing job opportunities and leaving those from disadvantaged backgrounds less likely to see people like themselves on screen. It also means many talented young people from poorer homes are blocked from highly sought after careers in the arts.”
The report also acknowledged that the inaccessibility of the arts has been an issue for some time. “The findings here mirror those found in research on the creative industries for decades. To solve the entrenched issues limiting access to the creative industries for socio-economically disadvantaged young people, action is needed from creative employers, alongside changes across the education pipeline.”
The trust called for the introduction of an “arts premium” to allow schools to pay for arts opportunities such as music lessons and ensuring that arts institutions in receipt of state funding were banned from charging prospective students for auditions. It also suggested socioeconomic inclusion should be a condition of employers receiving arts funding and that unpaid internships lasting more than four weeks should be banned.
