ALL President Jane Harvey comments on this year’s results:
“Congratulations to all A-level language students and their teachers in England, Wales and Northern Ireland on their results today.
Language learning enables students to understand other cultures and is a life enhancing skill. We appreciate the amount of hard work that goes into preparing for a demanding course, requiring not only language skills, but also a wide knowledge and critical appreciation of the culture of the language studied.
There is some comfort in the fact that overall entries to language A-levels have stabilised with variations this year in the numbers taking exams in French, German and Spanish reflecting the GCSE entry patterns in 2017. It is also very pleasing to see Schools and Colleges ensuring that students across the country continue to have the opportunity to take A-levels in less widely taught languages. However, the total number of students taking a language at A-level remains very low, and must raise concerns about the UK’s ability to produce enough qualified linguists for the country’s needs. We are hopeful that the Ofqual review of grading at GCSE will lead to greater numbers studying at GCSE and then on to A-level.”
For further information on this year’s results, you can also explore Ofqual’s Guide to AS and A level results for England, 2019.
Also, in the news:
BBC: A-level Results 2019
Schools Week: A-level results 2019: Spanish overtakes French as most popular language
Guardian: A-level Results 2019
Telegraph: Top grades fall to their lowest level in more than a decade