Protest Against the axeing of A Level Creative Writing! NOW!

As you may be aware, a (political) decision has been made to cut the Creative Writing A Level that many people worked so hard to see introduced. A petition has now been started and if we get enough signatures this will have to be raised in the House of Commons, so do please sign and urge others to do the same.

https://www.change.org/p/nicky-morgan-mp-save-the-creative-writing-a-level


Here is my reasoning:

I'm deeply concerned, as a teacher of creative writing at university level, and as a theorist of its developing practice into an autonomous academic subject (with a pedagogy separate from English) that this A Level - replete with chances to access the cognitive contents and challenges of literary form, and its opportunities for critical thinking, as well as creative engagement, should be discontinued. The reason for this seems to be a supposed lack of 'knowledge base' in favour of 'skills', but a knowledge of a range of linguistic and artistic forms (again, with their own cognitive content, as much of my academic literary criticism attempts to prove) is a knowledge of the means for advanced rigorous thinking and reflection. It is not a simple a writing skills course. At any level.