GCSE
·
There has been a steady decline in the numbers taking GCSE Modern
Languages over the last ten years, with sharp declines for the exams taken
in June 2005 onwards, so that now the numbers have fallen by around
half.
·
The pattern is very similar for French and German, just different starting points
(e.g French: 2002 = 315,071, 2010
= 163,283 (i.e. 52%);
German:
2002 = 122,053, 2010 = 67,084
(i.e. 55%)
·
The decline has been particularly
marked in lower-attaining pupils at GCSE
(e.g. in 2002 165,412 gained
A*-C and 149,659 gained D-U,
but in 2010 116,911
gained A*-C (i.e. 71% of ’02)
and 46,372 gained D-U (i.e. 31%
of ’02))
·
The change in the intake profile for GCSE has led to an
increased percentage of entries getting higher grades, but there is an
unresolved question as to whether the increase
has been great enough
to match the attainment of the students.
·
The numbers taking Spanish and some other languages (with many native
speakers) have increased slightly in the same period, but are far
outweighed by the decline in French and German (e.g. Spanish: 2002 =
54,050, 2010 = 62,580)
