Written question asked by Gordon Prentice (Labour) on Tuesday, 2 November 2004, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Tuesday, 9 November 2004. It was answered by Stephen Twigg (Labour) on Tuesday, 9 November 2004 on behalf of the Department for Education and Skills.

Dept for Education and Skills

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, how many and what percentage of primary schools offer a foreign language to their pupils. - Inc figures.

Answer: Mr. Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many and what percentage of primary schools offer a foreign language to their pupils. [196456] Mr. Stephen Twigg: On 30 September this year my Department published the results of research, undertaken in the 2002/03 academic year, into the extent and nature of foreign language learning activities at Key Stage 2. This research highlighted that 44 per cent. of all schools teaching Key Stage 2 pupils in England were offering language learning programmes in some form, with 35 per cent. using curriculum time to do so. This represents a significant increase since the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority and University of Warwick published research in 2000 that stated that 20 per cent. of primary schools were teaching foreign languages.

Secondary information