§ Mr. ViggersTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will publish in theOfficial Report a table showing the number of students pursuing (a) a degree, (b) an A-level and (c) a GCSE, or nearest appropriate equivalent, in (i) French, (ii) German, (iii) Spanish, (iv) Portuguese, (v) Italian, (vi) Japanese, (vii) Chinese and (viii) Russian for 1970, 1975, 1980 and 1985 and any estimate he has for 1990.
Mr. JacksonThe available information is given in the tables.
(1) Universities in Great Britain Numbers of full-time first degree students on courses Academic year beginning 19721 1975 1980 1985 1988 French 3,583 3,668 4,296 3,501 3,256 German 1,810 1,729 1,853 1,552 1,521 Italian 259 241 274 245 273 Spanish 637 516 539 461 510 Portuguese 2 7 9 10 1 Russian 633 519 403 497 527 Chinese 119 124 133 259 304 Japanese 36 35 38 67 82 1 Earliest year available. 395W
(2) Public sector Numbers of full-time and part-lime first degree students on courses1 As at November 1970 1975 1980 1985 1988 French 116 193 291 559 725 German 29 75 117 204 164 Italian nil nil nil nil 1 Spanish 38 56 154 221 270 Portuguese nil nil nil nil nil Russian 46 69 61 69 98 Chinese nil nil nil nil 50 Japanese nil nil nil nil nil 1 England and Wales in 1970 and 1975. England only for 1980,1985 and 1988.
(3) School leavers in EnglandExamination attempts at A-level Thousands Academic years 1976–771 1979–80 1984–85 1987–88 French 19.4 20.4 18.8 15.4 German 6.7 7.4 6.8 5.8 Italian 0.5 0.4 0.3 0.4 Spanish 1.9 2.1 2.1 1.7 Portuguese Not known Russian 0.4 0.3 0.3 0.3 Chinese Not known Japanese Not known 1 Earliest year available.
(4) School leavers in England Examination attempts at GCSE1, 0-level and CSE Thousands Academic years 1976–772 1979–80 1984–85 1987–88 French 217.6 239.9 254.1 229.6 German 54.8 66.1 70.5 64.4 Italian 2.0 2.6 2.1 1.8 Spanish 12.2 14.1 14.2 13.9 Portuguese Not known Russian 2.1 1.6 1.4 1.2 Chinese Not known Japanese Not known 1 Including GCSE from 1987–88. 2 Earliest year available.