THE popular Artists in School Service — which for the past 10 years has inspired young people in the classroom — is facing the axe.

Loss of funding means it is no longer viable and town hall chiefs are consulting on scrapping the service completely.

The Artist in Schools Service was set up to bring together pupils, artists and teachers to inspire learning.

Artists helped schools to deliver the “creative curriculum” through the development of projects across all suspects.

The artists also provided after school and summer activities.

Education chiefs said the service provided a “very high quality experience of the arts” for pupils but added it was not a statutory council service and that the financial situation became “challenging” when Bury Council withdrew its annual £50,000 contribution in 2011.

The council said pressures on school budgets has meant that the number of schools signed up for the “service level agreement” has also reduced.

A council report stated that over the past 12 months the reserves had to be raided to ensure the service broke even as grant funding did not bring in “significant amounts”.

A Bolton Council spokesman said: “Over the past 10 years The Artists in Schools service has supported schools in delivering their creative curriculum and after school and summer arts activities.

"Recently funding has declined for this service making it no longer viable and a proposal to remove the service has been put forward for consultation with trades unions, staff and stakeholders.

"Following consultation, if the agreement is to discontinue the service schools will be able to buy in freelance art services to fit their specific requirements.”

If the service is axed, one post will be made redundant as artists who work for the service do so on a self-employed basis.

Julia Simpkins, secretary of the Bolton branch of the National Union of Teachers, said: “Very few schools will now be able to bring in artists into schools.

“Creativity does not seem to be high on Michael Gove’s agenda.

“If pupils are who are not necessarily great at the 3Rs but who excel in the arts are denied this area of the curriculum it could lead to behaviour problems in school.”

Suzanne Harulow, a freelance artist who has runworkshops in school for more than 15 years, said: “I am devastated.

“I was one of the first artists in the pilot scheme.

“It has been a brilliant. Art can be used in so many different ways to reach children who don’t like literacy because it is a different way of looking at subjects.”