§ Mr. BradyTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many pupils in secondary schools receive tuition in(a)French, (b)German, (c)Spanish and (d)another modern foreign language; and in each case what percentage this constitutes of the total number of pupils in secondary schools. [48236]
§ Mr. Ivan LewisThe School and College Performance Tables give information on how many pupils are entered for GCSE and A-level examinations. In 2000–01 entries for GCSE and A-level for(a)French totalled 321,200 and 15,170 respectively, for (b)German totalled 130,623 and 7,488, for (c)Spanish totalled 45,626 and 4,447 and for (d)all other languages, entries totalled 20,317 and 3,478.
Expressed as a percentage of all 15-year-old pupils attending school, the GCSE entries for each language represented 53.2 per cent. (French), 21.6 per cent. (German), 7.6 per cent. (Spanish) and 3.4 per cent. (other). The A-level entries expressed as a percentage of all 17 to 18-year-old candidates are 6.8 per cent. (French), 3.3 per cent. (German), 2.0 per cent. (Spanish) and 1.6 per cent. (other).
Data are not collected on how many pupils choose to study a language but do not go on to take an examination.
§ Mr. BradyTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what estimate she has made of the number of children in each year of(a)Key Stage 1 and (b)Key Stage 2 who receive tuition in modern foreign languages in maintained schools; and what percentage that number is of the total for each year group. [48238]
§ Mr. Ivan LewisOne in five primary schools currently offer some form of language learning at Key Stage 2. As language learning is not a compulsory element of the primary curriculum, it is not possible to give more detailed information.
§ Mr. BradyTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what estimate she has made of(a)the number and (b)the percentage of pupils aged 14 years and 191W over who would choose not to study a modern foreign language if the national curriculum requirement were ended. [48239]
§ Mr. Ivan LewisWe are currently undertaking an extensive consultation on a range of proposals including the position of modern foreign languages in our Green Paper, "14–19: extending opportunities, raising standards". Our proposal for languages would allow all young people a statutory entitlement to study a modern foreign language but they would have no obligation to do so. Latest figures suggest that around 36,000 pupils are covered by the disapplication arrangements regarding modern foreign languages at Key Stage 4. We have made no estimates at this stage of the effect of our proposals on the study of modern foreign languages at Key Stage 4.
§ Mr. BradyTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what estimate she has made of the number of additional language teachers which would be required for all maintained schools to offer a modern foreign language at Key Stages 1 and 2. [48237]
§ Mr. Ivan LewisOur ambition that all primary school children will be entitled to study languages by 2012 is one of a number of proposals set out in our consultation pamphlet "Language Learning". The consultation period ends on 31 May.
We recognise the need to raise the number of primary teachers trained to teach languages and will develop our long-term language learning and teaching strategy in the light of the responses to our consultation. The Languages National Steering Group, chaired by my ministerial colleague Baroness Catherine Ashton, is developing that strategy which will be published in the autumn.