§ 40. Mr. Peter Bottomleyasked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what steps she is taking to encourage the study of modern languages at school and at university.
§ Mrs. Shirley WilliamsShortcomings in modern language teaching in schools have recently been documented in reports by Her Majesty's inspectors. The considerations and discussions now under way will lead to decisions on what action the Government and others should take. Applications from those seeking to read modern languages in 1977 are reported to be up by nearly 5 per cent. However, the general increase in university applicants is over 8 per cent.
§ 42. Miss Fookesasked the Secretary of State for Education and Science how many boys and how many girls passed A-level French in the last year for which figures are available; and how these figures compare with results 10 years ago.
§ Miss Margaret JacksonProvisional figures for the 1976 summer examinations indicate that 5,506 boys and 11,746 girls passed A-level French. Corresponding figures for 1966 were 7,543 boys and 10,954 girls. These figures cover candidates from schools, further education establishments and privately entered candidates.