The headlines
At A Level, results remain relatively stable in general, with a slight decline in the pass rate overall, but with the proportion of A* grades awarded rising slightly by 0.6%. Students are increasingly choosing ‘Facilitating Subjects’, with entries for Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Maths and Further Maths all up on previous years.
For languages specifically, entries for French, German and Spanish have continued to decrease. German and Spanish have seen fairly small decreases, however French has seen a more marked decrease (-7.4%). Other Modern Languages have seen rises in entries however, and this is an area where entries are continuing to rise.
Summary by language with over 1,000 entries:
|
A Level Language |
2014 entries |
2014 compared to 2013 |
2013 entries |
2013 compared to 2012 |
French
10433
-7.4%
11272
-9.9%
Spanish
7601
-0.7%
7651
+4.1%
German
4187
-1.3%
4242
-11.1%
Chinese
3113
-6.4%
3326
-3%
Russian
1147
+6.3%
1079
+7%
Summary by language with fewer than 1,000 entries:
A Level Language
2014 entries
2014 compared to 2013
Number of entries
2013 compared to 2012
Polish
963
+7.0%
900
-2%
Italian
814
-0.2%
816
-6%
Arabic
645
+0.3%
643
+6%
Urdu
460
-18.7%
566
-13%
Turkish
466
+11.2%
419
+18%
Portuguese
370
+2.8%
360
+15%
Japanese
260
-0.4%
261
-7%
Panjabi
167
-11.6%
189
+3%
Persian
190
+15.9%
164
+6%
Dutch
149
+17.3%
127
-9%
Modern Greek
150
+23.0%
122
+10%
Bengali
42
-25.0%
56
+4%
Modern Hebrew
52
+13.0%
46
No change
Gujarati
19
+46.2%
13
-31%
AS Level results in general remain stable overall, with a 0.1% increase at A to 19.9%. Entries for AS Level languages specifically have risen across the board, most notably Spanish.
AS Level Language
2014 entries
2014 compared to 2013
2013 entries
2013 compared to 2012
2012 entries
French
17781
+1.6%
17501
-6.5%
18721
Spanish
13958
+15.0%
12136
+3%
11781
German
7193
+2.7%
7006
-1.6%
7119
Chinese
2632
+2.6%
2566
-1.6%
2608
Italian
1245
+0.1%
1244
+8.8%
1143
Polish
1329
+4.4%
1273
+7.2%
1187
Russian
983
+10.2%
892
+16.8%
764
What is less clear however is what impact this may or may not have on conversion rates from AS Level to A2 – where Spanish has dropped slightly in the last year.
A & AS Level Language
2014 A Level entries
2013 AS Level entries
Conversion rate
2013 A Level entries
2012 AS Level entries
Conversion rate
French
10433
17501
59%
11272
18721
60%
Spanish
7601
12136
62%
7651
11781
65%
German
4187
7006
60%
4242
7119
60%
Italian
814
1244
65%
816
1143
71%
Polish
963
1273
76%
900
1187
76%
The percentage of A* grades awarded for A Level Languages has risen very slightly (French up 0.1%, German up 0.7%, Spanish up 1%), proportional with the overall trend this year towards rising A* grades. Compared to other subjects though, languages still feature very low – in terms of the A*/A ratio for all subjects, French is 6th lowest, Spanish 10th lowest and German 11th lowest. For example, the ratio of French A*/A is only 17% compared to 31% for all subjects.
JCQ has recently published a report on Modern Foreign Languages at A Level (see 15 July 2014), which reports on various issues relating to this area, including uptake at A Level, student motivations for selecting A Level languages, progression rates and the proportion of candidates achieving a grade A or A* compared to other subjects, which identifies “some clear issues relating to the proportion of A*s at A-level in Modern Foreign Languages and the low take-up of and progression in these subjects… These are not issues that can be resolved by a few tweaks to the system, but must be part of a holistic review of assessment, qualification design and qualification purpose. As such, awarding organisations will be using the findings to feed into the wider reforms being undertaken by ALCAB, which has been tasked with reviewing A-level Modern Foreign Languages and reporting to Ofqual, with a view to new qualifications being taught from 2016. ALCAB’s work presents an opportunity to address the concerns and issues that surround the design and assessment of Modern Foreign Languages.”
This being the case, we would like to encourage all members to respond to the DfE’s AS and A Levels consultation on content for AS and A levels in modern foreign languages, ancient languages. The proposed content reflects the recommendations of the A level Content Advisory Board. Their reports can be viewed here.
This new content can be found here, and in more detail using the following links:
– A Level subject content for ancient languages
– A Level subject content for modern foreign languages
The DfE is encouraging responses by post, by email and online, and the closing date is Friday 19 September 2014.
So ALL would like to ask you to:
• respond as an individual to the consultation, and
• let us know your views to help us to put together our own ALL response.
– Joint Council for Qualifications: Click here for the Joint Council for Qualifications – press release, full JCQ data tables, and further information.
– Speak to the Future: What is happening to languages at A Level?
– BBC News: A-level grades have edged down this year, as pupils in England, Wales and Northern Ireland receive their results.
– Telegraph: A-level results published by exam boards show the number of A to E grades awarded to students has declined this year.