Leading Scriptwriting Course Launches Petition To Reinstate The Creative Writing A Level

As part of the launch of its first book, Dramatic Writing Masterclasses: Key Advice from the Industry Masters, the MA Dramatic Writing at Drama Centre London at Central Saint Martins, one the UK's leading scriptwriting courses has launched a petition to reinstate the Creative Writing A Level.

The Creative Writing A Level is scheduled to come to an end in 2017 after the Department for Education decided to turn down the AQA submission for Creative Writing to continue as an AS and A Level subject from 2017 onwards.

Jennifer Tuckett, Course Leader of the MA Dramatic Writing at Drama Central London at Central Saint Martins said: "If writing is a chance to reflect on who we were, who we are and who we can be, it is important anyone has a chance to pursue this career and become a writer. By removing the opportunity to consider this subject for A Level, you are then guiding students away from considering this career path later on which is then limiting the diversity of who writers are and making it more likely the same kinds of people will be the ones who become writers. This is why the creative writing A level is so important - it has been shown that the subjects we study at school lead to the subjects we consider for university and/or careers then, when we become parents, our own choices influence the choices we guide our children make".

The MA Dramatic Writing is one of the top scriptwriting courses in the UK, and, as part of its new campaign to increase access and diversity in the writing industry, has recently combined forces with Oberon Books, one of the UK's most prestigious performing arts publishers, on a new series of books which will provide access to advice on how to write dramatic writing written by those leading the way in the industry, most of whom have never published their training methods before.

Contributors to the first book, many of whom are publishing their training methods for the first time, include Ola Animashawun, founder of The Royal Court Theatre's world famous Young Writers Programme, Fin Kennedy, winner of the first Fringe First award ever awarded to a schools production and Artistic Director of Tamasha Theatre Company, Kate Rowland, founder of BBC Writersroom, Philip Shelley, instigator of the Channel 4 screenwriting course, Steve Winter, Director of the Kevin Spacey Foundation and co-creator of the Old Vic New Voices 24 Hour Plays and TS Eliot US/UK Exchange and John Yorke, creator of the BBC Writers Academy and former Head of Channel 4 Drama and Controller of BBC Drama Production

This book, which aims to make sure anyone can access the leading training and consider becoming a writer, whether they can attend workshops or not, provides key advice from those leading the way in the industry and will be followed by The Student Guide to Writing series, a new annual competition and book series providing in-depth step by step guides to each form of dramatic writing (theatre, film, television, radio and digital media).

The book series, partnership and petition are inspired by the need for increased access and diversity in the writing industry, for example with the cancellation of the Creative Writing A Level, EBACC not including creative subjects, and the Cultural Learning Alliance's recent figures showing a fall in the number of school students taking arts subjects.

The petition is accompanied by a survey investigating what is the future of dramatic writing training to facilitate further exploration of this subject matter which can be completed here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/dramaticwriting

The results will be reported at London Writer's Week.

More information on the partnership between Oberon Books and the MA Dramatic Writing and the first book Dramatic Writing Masterclasses: Key Advice from the Industry Masters is available here: https://oberonbooks.wordpress.com/2017/02/07/the-masters-at-work/

The petition to reinstate the Creative Writing A Level can be signed here: https://you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/reinstate-the-creative-writing-a-level

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