Nursery World - To the Point - Digging up the future

Professor Cathy Nutbrown says that the downgrading of classical studies at A level could have ramifications for the early years.

A week or so ago it was confirmed that classical studies, archaeology and history of art were no longer on the A-level curriculum, and several academics expressed concern about how this would impact future recruitment of undergraduates to, for example, art history and archaeology degrees. This led me to think about how such short-sighted decisions made about what can and cannot be an A-level might, in time, have an impact on what young children experience in their pre-school settings.

Now, we rarely think about A-levels when we welcome young children into their settings. But we do think about history, culture and lives long passed. Many young children are welcomed into art galleries and museums, where they can spend time among centuries-old works of art and artefacts.

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