The paper deals with the degree of development of interest in arts in young people, and the justifiability of the current tendency of revision and abbreviation of the art curricula in schools. The research is focused on the structure of interests in various artistic disciplines in secondary school students, and the aim is to determine whether the degree of students’ interest depends on the school type, gender and previous experience. The research was conducted on the sample of 555 students from 111 schools, who filled out the questionnaire during one school period. The data were processed by multifactor analysis of variance. There was a higher degree of interest in video and performing arts, which are not present enough in students’ surroundings. The girls showed a higher degree of interest in all disciplines, as well as grammar school students compared to their peers from vocational schools. It was shown that the higher the number of programmes attended, the higher the interest in all forms of art. Young people who were completely inactive showed interest in video arts, which serves as an important guideline in the process of moving and socialising them. The results confirm that youth’s interests and needs are discrepant with what is offered to them. It is necessary to introduce various artistic contents as parts of the curriculum, which would make school an integral part of their life, the part that directly influences the development of creativity and increases responsible participation in the society.