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Written question asked by Andrew Rosindell (Conservative) on Thursday, 8 November 2012, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Monday, 12 November 2012. It was answered by Elizabeth Truss (Conservative) on Monday, 19 November 2012 on behalf of the Department for Education.

Languages: GCSE

Question

To ask the Secretary of State for Education (1) what steps he is taking to encourage the study of Spanish at GCSE;

[128327]

Answer

We are encouraging the study of modern foreign languages, including Spanish, in a number of ways. We have made a modern or ancient language part of the English Baccalaureate. We also believe that an early start to language learning will benefit pupils' education in secondary school and have proposed that a foreign language be statutory at Key Stage 2 from 2014 as part of the new national curriculum. DFE-commissioned research published in 2009 showed that 25% of primary schools were teaching Spanish and the language continues to be very popular at this level.

While the Department cannot provide figures on those studying GCSE Spanish, the Statistical First Release “GCSE and Equivalent Results (Provisional) and National Curriculum Teacher Assessments at Key Stage 3 in England, 2011/12” provides information on the number of pupils at the end of Key Stage 4 attempting GCSEs in a range of subjects. This publication is available from the Department's website here:

http://www.education.gov.uk/researchandstatistics/statistics/recentreleases/a00214981/gcse-national-curriculum-teacher-assessment-ks3-england

Table 7 shows that the number of pupils at the end of Key Stage 4 in the 2011/12 academic year who attempted GCSE Spanish was 63,400. This includes attempts by these pupils in previous academic years.

Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
128327; 553 cc366-7W
Session
2012-13
Subjects
Languages GCSE
Link
View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk