Why my BTEC Performing Arts qualification saved my future.

The year is 2011 and I just completed three years studying a BTEC in Musical Theatre at Loughborough College. I obtained a triple distinction which meant the option to go onto to university was wide open for me, but before college, that wouldn’t have been an option for me. You see, I didn’t do very well in my GCSE’s and I considered that my future looked bleak. I don’t know why but the expectation to do well and go onto A-Levels overwhelmed me. When I saw the brand new performing arts course at Loughborough College was going to begin 12 months later, I knew I had to apply. My BTEC qualification essentially saved my future and it’s why I am frustrated by the recent news that ‘Performing Arts BTEC could be scrapped in post-16 qualifications reform‘ announced this week.

There is a consultation on the future of post-16 technical qualifications taking place this month, with many people spreading the word about the potential that the BTEC in Performing Arts will be scrapped.

Shared from the Drama and Theatre website, in the second stage of the Department for Education’s ‘Review of post-16 qualifications at level 3 in England’, it has been proposed that 16- to 19-year-olds wanting to study a technical subject can choose from 24 ‘T Levels’ and ‘additional specialist qualifications’ that can be studied alongside T Levels. 

This would mean that BTEC Performing Arts and other vocational qualifications such as Cambridge Technicals in Performing Arts, RSL Vocational Awards, UAL performing arts qualifications and other vocational creative and performing qualifications would no longer be funded. There is no replacement T Level in Drama or Performing Arts. 

The government consultation document states that ‘this will mean that all technical qualifications should offer the firm prospect of a sustainable job and career.’ 

We still live in a society where the arts aren’t considered a sustainable job and career, when in fact it brings billions of money into the UK’s economy every year. And in fact, loads of people you see in respectable careers probably had involvement in the arts at some point through their education. I definitely believe all of the skills I learnt during my BTEC have enabled me to be a bloody good Learning Support Assistant.

A BTEC is a fantastic pathway for young people who wouldn’t necessarily access the more academic A-Level route, this isn’t the fit and realistic option for everybody. Participating in a creative qualification enables you to build on more than just your academic skills (because believe it or not, we don’t just act, sing and dance) we become more socially and emotionally connected with ourselves and the world we live in. Sustaining a career in any field is pretty damn hard, but if you’ve got the determination you can absolutely do it. I think doing performing arts taught me all I needed to know about resilience.

There’s some belief that BTEC is the “easier” route to university and that couldn’t be further from the truth. When you do a BTEC you still have to work hard to obtain good grades to be able to go onto university, I even retook my GCSE English and Maths on top of doing that full-time. It wasn’t easy but because I was provided with the right support to manage it all, I did it. I have friends who did A Levels and the thought of all of the exams honestly feels me with dread. I couldn’t have possibly made it through A-Levels so doing a BTEC was the best avenue for me personally. I know other young people feel exactly the same which is why we can’t possibly see this change develop within education.

Read more: My Career after University (4 Years On!)

If we want young people to continue to access a education that is available to them and something they are passionate about, then these T Levels need to do exactly that. They need to reflect a society of future trailblazers for the more artistic industries out there. They need to reflect the more realistic society we are living in, not one that continues to build up more and more boundaries for young people. Education is tough enough for many already, whether that’s due to personal reasons or restrictions out of their control, it doesn’t always feel accessible to young people in our society. So why are we continuing to build boundaries?

We seem to be living in an age where the arts are being squeezed out of education more and more. I’ve recently been struck by the news that the Dance department in the university I went to is closing, is this the sad state that is becoming of our education system? I surely hope not.

I urge the consultation to look further in-depth at what studying a performing arts BTEC course can do for a young person’s future, even if it doesn’t make them the next big West End star but a positive contribution to society with all of the skills they’ve gained.

Did you study a BTEC qualification? share your experience in the comments.

The Stage also released a article about the plans to scrap performing arts BTEC recently too!