Rye College should not reduce their performing arts curriculum.

Rye College is mid-way through a curriculum reorganisation consultation. It has been proposed that performing arts teachers are made redundant, resulting in GCSE drama and dance subjects being removed from students GCSE options. This would be a terrible thing for both the teachers effected and the current year 7-9 students. Last year food technology was removed from the curriculum effecting some of the current year 10 students. Losing drama and dance GCSE choices would impact on many more students. Rye College branded itself as a performing arts school, but never invested in or developed this branch of the curriculum. The attached studio school closed a couple of years ago and a recent (much needed) significant financial investment by the Aquinas trust went into the basic infrastructure. Sadly the cash injection has not helped an ongoing staffing crisis or gone towards supporting arts subjects. Students at the college feel
that Aquinas and the heads of the college only care about core subjects and are not interested in the arts any more.
It is vital that children receive a well balanced education and options for their personal and career development outside of just science or technology. A significant part of a students health, happiness and well-being depends upon the ability to choose from a broad selection of GCSE options, and select those that are right for them.
Rye College should not be considering making staff redundant and removing performing arts GCSE subjects. It is not in the students best interests and must be very distressing for the teachers that wish to continue delivering them.