A new Policy Note from the Higher Education Policy Institute
(HEPI), Language GCSEs in English schools: a postcode
lottery? (HEPI Policy Note 75) shows participation in
language subjects at GCSE varies considerably across England
after years of decline:
- overall, just 4.2% of non-selective
state schools have an average of one language GCSE entry per
pupil;
- the best performing Local Education
Authorities (LEA) for language learning is Hammersmith &
Fulham, which has an average of 0.86 language GCSE entries per
pupil, while the worst area on the mainland is Blackpool (0.24);
and
- provision of GCSE German is now
scarce in mainstream state schools seven LEAs now have no GCSE
entries for German at all.
Megan Bowler's analysis provides evidence that language
education, language choices and formal recognition of progress
are far from equitable. The uptake of languages at GCSE varies
considerably school by school due to different internal policies,
and participation is strongly impacted by socio-economic,
geographical and academic barriers.
- Languages fare better in London, where the per-pupil GCSE
entry average is 0.69; the average drops to 0.42 in the South
West and the North East.
- Just 7.9% of schools and only 4.2% of comprehensive schools
have an average of at least one language entry per pupil at GCSE.
- Grammar schools have an average of one language GCSE entry
per student, which is more than double the average for
comprehensive schools (0.48).
- GCSE participation in French, Spanish and German, which are
the three main languages taught in schools, correlates strongly
with socio-economic advantage. The average number of entries per
pupil across these three languages is 0.36 in schools with the
highest proportion of pupils eligible for Free School Meals
(Quintile 5), compared to 0.57 in those with the lowest (Quintile
1).
- The inequalities at GCSE are even starker for German and
classical languages: only 30% of comprehensive schools entered
any pupils for German, and just 5.6% entered any pupils for
Latin.
- Over one-fifth (21.6%) of school pupils have a first language
other than English (EAL, English as an Additional Language'), but
pupils' existing multilingualism continues to be under-recognised
in formal qualifications.
The HEPI Policy Note argues that low undergraduate enrolments for
language degrees should be seen as a consequence of these limited
and unequal opportunities to gain exposure to languages at
school, rather than as an indication of true demand.
Beyond schools that practise academic selection, those
state-funded schools which still do relatively well in terms of
language provision against the national trend tend to be:
academies with a high expectation culture for all pupils; faith
schools; schools which had a language specialism within the
discontinued specialist schools programme'; and schools that
offer the International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma (though the IB
is now being defunded).
Boosting language participation would require some national
policy fixes, including:
- facilitating the recruitment of
language teachers from abroad;
- ensuring equitable exam marking so
that pupils are assured they will not underperform in languages
relative to other subjects; and
- considering a flexible stepped
qualification pathway in addition to GCSEs.
However, a more localised approach is vital to address the
specific needs and challenges faced within each Local Education
Authority, and to target areas with the lowest participation with
additional investment and outreach.
Megan Bowler, the author of the Policy Note,
said:
For many pupils, language education ends before it has really
begun. Yet engaging with language, communication and culture is a
worthwhile educational experience for all pupils, regardless of
how far they progress with it. Studying a language helps to
develop oracy, critical thinking and an empathetic awareness of
other cultures and perspectives.
This linguistic mindset' is going to become even more valuable in
the age of AI yet the opportunities to develop these modes of
thinking, and for pupils to have their existing skills
recognised, are patchy and unequal.
Rather than making irreversible cuts to teaching and research,
the higher education sector should adapt by expanding
opportunities for students to study languages from scratch and
alongside other subjects. Universities should likewise consider
how they can mobilise their staff, students and expertise to
revitalise the languages pipeline in local schools through
outreach and mentoring schemes, and to promote the value of
languages in the community.
, the CEO of HEPI,
said:
When it comes to young people understanding the world, the
biggest crisis facing our education system is the appallingly low
take up of languages. We lag far behind every other European
country.
Tony Blair's Government stopped languages being compulsory for
GCSE-aged pupils in England around 20 years ago, and school-based
language provision has been in a death spiral ever since.
Initiatives designed to halt the decline have not done their job.
However, there are some redoubts that have held out and they
deserve to be celebrated, as this new report does. Moreover, in
public policy terms, the decline in language learning could be
relatively straightforward and inexpensive to reverse, if only we
could find the will.
Just last week, one newspaper reported that the new Secretary of
State for Education, , thinks vocational qualifications
could help save modern foreign languages'. While there is
confusion over what this might mean, a new focus on language
learning would be welcome.
