Art history for all

ATHENA suggests that ‘the art-history profession hasn’t done much to help’ Stateschool students who wish to study the subject at A Level (October 26). More certainly needs to be done, but it is emphatically not that art historians aren’t interested nor that the State sector lacks aptitude. Between 2014 and 2016, I ran an AS Art History outreach scheme for the Association of Art Historians and both uptake and results were good: in 2016, students achieved 87% A–C grades, with several of them planning to study the subject at university.

I currently teach an independent development of this scheme (above). The course is over-subscribed, with 15 students from six State schools and a wide range of backgrounds. Let us not get lost in ‘Art history, worthwhile or not?’ debates. Instead, let’s focus on the real issue: that an AS or equivalent qualification in Art History should continue to be offered so that students have the opportunity to study great art of the past and present in order to have equal opportunities in the future. Rose Aidin, Art History Link-up, London