Director of Campaign for the Arts Jack Gamble stressed that “successful creative careers can follow from technical and vocational as well as academic routes” and welcomed the “prime minister’s commitment to parity”.

He said: “These new pathways could help to address the technical, digital and other skills shortages in the UK’s creative industries, which the government has rightly prioritised in its Industrial Strategy.”

However he argued that “education is about more than careers”, adding: “Young people are more than the local labour market’s future recruits. So, we must also guarantee every child a high-quality arts and cultural education, whichever pathway they choose.”