§ Mr. StrawTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science (1) what is the best estimate available of the 623W proportion of 14 and 15-year-olds in Britain, and in each of the other European Community countries, who are studying, as part of their school curriculum (a) French, (b) German, (c) Italian, (d) Spanish, (e) English and (f) other modern languages to a recognised standard;
(2) if he will list the number of pupils and the proportion of total pupils so represented in the fourth and
Percentage of secondary school pupils in certain EC countries studying foreign languages EC countries 4England 1France 2Germany 3Ireland Maintained Schools Independent schools Per cent. Per cent. Per cent. Per cent, of school leavers Numbers (000s) Per cent, of all school leavers Numbers (000s) Per cent, of all school leavers English 82 91 5— 5— 5— 5— 5— 5— French 5— 21 71 41 260 39 35 78 German 22 5— 6 11 69 10 8 18 Italian 2 — — — 1 — 1 1 Spanish 16 — 3 2 14 2 3 6 Other modern languages 1 1 — n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. 1 Age 11–14 in 1982–83. Age 10–15 in 1982–83. 3 Age 12–14 in 1982–83. 4 School leavers attempting GCE O-level and CSE in 1986–87. 5 — Not applicable. n.a.— Not available.
Source:
'Education and Training' 1985 Eurostat.