Tristram Hunt speaking up for community languages

Tristram Hunt and NRCSE’s Gosia McKane speaking up for the retention of community language exams

Tristram Hunt calls for action to stop languages being axed from GCSEs and A levels | Schools Week
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Plans to scrap a number of languages from A level and GCSE exams has been criticised by those in the field and politicians.

Exam boards AQA and OCR have published lists of subjects planned to be axed, which includes foreign languages such as Polish, Gujarati, Punjabi, Bengali, Modern Hebrew, Turkish and Portuguese, while Ancient Hebrew is also likely to be axed.

Shadow education secretary Tristram Hunt has called on the government to “rescue” these subjects.

Meanwhile, Gosia McKane, quality assurance and training manager at the National Centre for Supplementary Resources, who are leading a campaign against the decision, said it could have a wider impact on the economy if such exams were scrapped.

She said: “We would like the exam board to withdraw this decision. We see a great importance in awarding A levels and GCSEs in modern languages.
“Ethnic minorities contribute a lot in this country, one example is their language. If ethnic minorities are denied the opportunity to take exams in their language that is not encouraging.

“They look at the commercial impact as an organization but they have to look at the wider costs. Languages are respected at universities and there is an economic benefits in having relationships with other countries. It is very short-term – it will have long-term damaging consequences.”