Written question asked by Nick de Bois (Conservative) on Thursday, 12 March 2015, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Tuesday, 17 March 2015 (named day). It was answered by Nick Gibb (Conservative) on Tuesday, 17 March 2015 on behalf of the Department for Education.

Languages: Education

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential effect of the decision by Oxford Cambridge and RSA not to redevelop GCSE and A Level Turkish on the ability of students to acquire skills in Turkish; and if she will make a statement.

Answer: The Government has been clear that it wants to see all pupils provided with the opportunity to take a core set of academic subjects, including modern foreign languages. There are considerable benefits to learning a second language and the Government is keen to see the range of languages at GCSE and A level preserved. It is, however, up to Awarding Organisations to decide which languages they want to continue offering as reformed GCSEs and A levels.

Secondary information