Figures from the Campaign for the Arts, the lobby group, show that since 2015 there has been a 58 per cent drop in the number of children studying design and technology to GCSE level and a 32 per cent drop in the number of students studying music.

Phillipson has appointed Professor Becky Francis to review the curriculum and address the “barriers” that hold back children from disadvantaged backgrounds.

The education secretary said the existing curriculum and assessment system was “failing to prepare enough of our children for work and for life”.