Question to the Department for Education:

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they are taking steps to ensure that A-levels in (1) art history, and (2) archaeology, continue to be offered to new students.

It is disappointing that AQA has taken the decision to withdraw from offering A levels in History of Art and Archaeology.

We published content for both subjects in January 2016. The option for AQA or another exam board to develop specifications in future will remain open. We are in discussion with the exam boards on this issue.

Neither subject is a pre-requisite for degree level study, and both are taken by a relatively small number of students. In 2015/16, there were 340 entries to A level Archaeology, and 776 entries to A level History of Art[1].

[1] Both figures cover examination results of students aged 16, 17 or 18 at the start of the academic year, i.e. 31 August.