Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of recommendations made by the Bacc for the Future campaign before deciding which subjects to include in the English baccalaureate.

The English Baccalaureate (EBacc) comprises the core academic curriculum: English, mathematics, the sciences (including computer science), history or geography and a language. The subjects are closely based on the facilitating subjects at A level, which the Russell Group of universities say keep a wide range of degree courses open to students.

The Government believes that, alongside the EBacc, all pupils should have access to an excellent, well-rounded education and the arts are central to this. All schools, including academies and free schools, must provide a broad and balanced curriculum that promotes the spiritual, moral, cultural, mental and physical development of pupils. We expect all schools to offer a wide range of options alongside the EBacc which has been designed to be limited in size so that there is flexibility for pupils to take additional GCSEs that reflect their own individual interests and strengths.

We are considering the responses to the consultation on the implementation of the EBacc, including those from the Bacc for the Future campaign, and we will publish the government response in due course.