The Tate is supporting a new free school which will focus on teaching children to be creative.
Sir Nicholas Serota, director of the Tate galleries, said the new school would be “of potentially national significance”.
It comes amid concerns that art and other creative subjects are being marginalised by the English Baccalaureate, which is given to students who pass GCSEs in core academic subjects.
Art and design would also be given prominence on the timetable, rather than “short term numeracy and literacy targets”, the group behind the bid said.
The school is being proposed by the Plymouth School of Creative Arts and would be for children aged between four and 16.
Sir Nicholas said there was a “need and an appetite for a school that gives opportunity for children and young people who have a wider range of capabilities than may be demonstrated through their current educational experience”.
Professor Andrew Brewerton, principal of Plymouth College of Art, said: “We are delighted that Nicholas Serota has taken such an interest.”
