Young Creatives Commission Interim report – ‘Levelling the Pitch.’ In partnership with the Roundhouse, the report highlights a growing gap between young people’s widespread interest in creative activity and their ability to access the opportunities, support and relationships they need to develop those interests

Our year-long commission examined how to increase engagement with the arts and how young people can gain and sustain fairer access to high-quality, affordable creative opportunities.

The evidence gathered by the Commission highlights some of the key challenges:

• Entries in expressive arts subjects at GCSE fell by 41.7 per cent between 2009/10 and 2024/25, according to the Cultural Learning Alliance.
• 47 per cent of teachers in independent schools said that more than two and a half hours of arts teaching were timetabled each week, compared with just 6 per cent of teachers in state schools, according to a 2026 primary survey.
• 46 per cent of young people who had not taken part in art or music-related activities did not know where they could go for opportunities locally.
• 85 per cent of young people from Global Majority backgrounds who felt represented in music believed that a career in music was achievable, compared with 59 per cent of those who felt unrepresented, according to Youth Music research.

The evidence shows that talent and creativity are widespread, but access is not. Young people’s ability to develop creatively is still shaped by income, geography, school provision and family resources.

The report highlights that the issue is not simply one of providing more activities. Young people we talked to told us they need opportunities they can find, enter, return to and develop over time. They value creative activity for many different reasons, including expression, enjoyment, confidence, connection and belonging, as well as the opportunity to develop skills and explore future education or employment. Progression into a creative career is one possible destination but should not be the measure of every valuable creative experience.

Our evidence suggests that a genuinely equitable arts offer therefore needs to look at the whole journey, from discovering an opportunity and entering it, through to sustained participation and any later progression. As with sport, young people should be able to see a clear route from discovering an interest to developing it over time, rather than facing fragmented or invisible pathways.