Art and design is still a gendered school subject

Gender disparity in the take-up of post-compulsory school art, leading to the predominance of girls at GCSE and A-level, appears to be linked to the perception that the subject offers few career prospects, and to the notion that boys dislike drawing and painting. This paper derives from a case study of a London secondary school art department during 2010/11. One aspect of the research examines the way art remains a feminine, marginalised subject despite its relevance to the increasingly successful creative industries. A central finding is that good attainment at GCSE still relies heavily on a demanding homework load and copious preparatory studies, both off-putting to students, particularly boys.