Creativity has never been more in demand
The World Economic Forum’s Future of Jobs Report 2025 highlights ‘creative thinking’ as a crucial skill in an era defined by technological transformation, economic uncertainty and political turbulence.
But there has been a profound creativity crisis in our schools. The number of hours that students learn creative subjects has fallen off a cliff. The decade since 2010 saw a 37% decline in GCSE entries in these subjects.
Designers and other creatives can help turn the tide by welcoming schools and youth clubs into their studios. In 2024, Heatherwick Studio launched In the Making, a passion-fuelled programme to kindle creativity in young people. Over 1,000 young people have now taken part in workshops at Making House, our home in King’s Cross, London.
The studio has partnered with two amazing youth organisations, Global Generation and Into University, to bring groups of young people to Making House. During their visits, participants tackle team-based, imagination-bending design challenges, and start to discover routes to landing a job in the creative industries.
The young people are aged between 10 and 14, which crucially means that sessions can plant the seed of a creative career in students’ hearts before they select their GCSE subjects.
In the Making is one of the biggest programmes of its kind run by any design studio in Britain. To support other practices, Heatherwick Studio has published free resources about how to run similar sessions for the next generation – these are downloadable from the Resources section below.
“This is a pivotal moment for arts education and Britain’s creative industries. Everyone working in design is passionate about supporting young people. But most programmes offered by the sector are too rare, too small, and too late. We need to intervene earlier, before students choose their GCSEs, and help young people see themselves as creative.”
Thomas Heatherwick
Why creative education matters
There is a myth that successful artists, designers and other creatives emerge ‘outside the system’. In reality, their creativity is very often cultivated at school – perhaps by an inspirational art teacher – before they follow a path into higher education and beyond.
But what happens when schools are forced to cut children’s access to arts-related teaching? The number of hours spent teaching creative subjects in English state-funded secondary schools fell by 23% from 2011 to 2024. Unsurprisingly, this led to a huge decline in GCSE and A-Level entries for these subjects. As well as reduced pathways for students into creative careers, this diminished curriculum has resulted in less personal expression and practical experimentation at school, and less creative confidence out of school.
“Creativity and the arts are a vital part of what brings meaning to our students' lives. Arts education develops a lifelong curiosity, it gives them the chance to look at the world from different perspectives, and through craft develops a sense of quality. These qualities are all vital to a thriving society.”
Tom Aldridge, Head of Art, Maria Fidelis Secondary School, London
How In the Making happens
Heatherwick Studio’s collaborators, Global Generation and Into University, work respectively with schools and youth clubs across London, organising groups to visit Making House. The students’ own evaluation suggests that the sessions work: 85% of participants report feeling more confident in their own creativity after their workshop.
The form of the workshops was co-created with young people from Global Generation and then tested in a year-long pilot. All sessions are facilitated by team members from across the studio. The materials downloadable from the Resources section, below, include a step-by-step practical guide of how workshops can be delivered.
The studio’s aim in 2024 was to work with 600 young people within three years – the fact that 1,000 have taken part already demonstrates the demand for creative education.
Since In the Making was launched, optimism has grown that recent policy changes will reverse the decline in arts education in Britain. In November 2025 the Government announced the 2028 abolition of the English Baccalaureate (EBacc) and the reform of Progress 8 – performance measures that have decimated the provision of creative subjects in schools. As these changes take place, demand for activities such as In the Making will surge from schools.
“In the Making has had a transformative impact on students from Into University. Aspiration building is very important for our young people and this programme helps them to see themselves as creative thinkers and problem-solvers. Young people who would not otherwise experience this sort of setting learn that they have the talent and capability to work in the creative industries.”
Viknesh Jeevachandran, Regional Operations Manager (North West London), Into University
Resources
Workshop Template
The template for a 2-hour workshop that can be adapted and used in any setting to run a creative education session with young people.
Practice Guide
An accompanying Practice Guide with tips and ideas for designers who haven’t previously worked with schools and young people.
Ambition to Reality
A new report summarising all the evidence on the current state of creative education and its impact on young people.
“The programme bridges the gap to a world from which many feel excluded. With the onslaught of AI and a world dominated by a lack of critical thought, the ability to be creative – to question, to solve problems and to challenge the way we think about the world – is needed more than ever. "
Jemma Pym, Head of Fundraising and Programmes, Global Generation
“Heatherwick Studio’s ‘In the Making’ is a fantastic example of how the profession can contribute to and encourage the creativity of future generations. No young person should miss out on a creative education. The Government must work together with the creative industries to ensure that access is universal.”
Muyiwa Oki, RIBA President
“The great thing about architecture in the UK is that it has much greater geographic reach than most other creative professions. The Government rightly wants to expand the choices available to every child wherever they live and whatever their background. Architects are brilliantly placed to support this. If every architecture practice in this country ran one workshop each term with a class from their local school, that would reach 540,000 young people every year.”
Matt Bell, Strategic Communications Director, Heatherwick Studio
