HC Deb 21 March 1979 vol 964 cc609-10W
Mr. Newens

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if she will list any examples in which local education authorities are known to have carried out experiments in the teaching of Esperanto in primary or secondary schools; and if she will make a statement.

Miss Margaret Jackson

It is for local authorities and the schools themselves to formulate their policies for the teaching of individual subjects; my Department does not collect systematic information about the number or location of schools providing instruction in Esperanto. However; returns from examining boards indicated that a total of 36 candidates in England and Wales attempted CSE examinations in Esperanto in 1977; and in reply to my Department's circular 14–77 about curricular arrangements, one authority specifically mentioned provision of Esperanto courses in one secondary school in its area.