Exam board Edexcel is reviewing a decision to stop offering A levels in Music and Music Technology, a move that shocked teachers and course organisers all over the UK, whose schools and colleges had invested large sums of money in studio equipment in order to teach it. Edexcel, the only exam board to offer such a course, is now in talks about continuing the courses, which were, apparently, studied by the members of Arctic Monkeys.
Originally, Edexcel had said it would not continue because "the complexity of the current assessment model and constraints of the new subject criteria have made it impossible to produce a sustainable specification which will be attractive to schools and colleges", planning instead to focus on a BTEC qualification "which has proved popular in our centres".
The move prompted a barrage of posts on the Times Educational Supplement's online forums, criticising what seems widely regarded to be a commercial move on the part of Edexcel. Teacher and writer Andy Collyer, one of the authors of Edexcel's music technology syllabus, said: "I was stunned and appalled when I heard the news of the demise of these two subjects. Many centres, students and parents still see the GCE as the 'gold standard' and I cannot see schools moving over to BTec," he said. [They] must not be allowed to perpetrate this cost-cutting, ill-conceived nonsense."
An examiner for AS-level arranging in Music Technology also commented, saying: "My school has spent a lot of money on a new studio and music ICT rooms on the basis of this A-level being introduced. Given the school's academic sixth form, the subject being available at BTec only is not going to go down well with the school. I feel quite betrayed."
Now Edexcel's chief executive, Jerry Jarvis, has agreed to meet with senior examiners to discuss a possible compromise. A statement from the board reads: "Students starting courses in 2006 and 2007 would be unaffected by any changes, with exams continuing to January 2010. However, in view of the enormous support being shown for our existing qualifications, and the encouragement that we have received, we have resumed the process of discussion with all parties to seek a solution that meets the needs of our centres and their students."