Home / Protect minority language study, says Morgan
Protect minority language study, says Morgan
EB News: 23/04/2015 - 08:51
The languages have been among the subjects due to be axed in the exam changes set for the next educational year, following the coalition’s overhaul of the exam system. But Morgan has warned that there is concern that students from minority communities would not be able to study their ‘mother tongue or that of their parents and family’.
At present, exam board OCR are set to drop GCSEs and A-levels in Turkish, Portuguese, Persian, Gujarati and Dutch, while AQA have announced they will drop the A-level study of Polish, Punjabi, Modern Hebrew and Bengali.
Morgan’s voice of concern follows a campaign to protect the minority languages, after a petition to keep Polish A-level received more than 14,000 signatures.
Professor Nigel Vincent of the British Academy, said: “Our rich multicultural society is itself a soft power asset for the UK. There is a wealth of untapped linguistic resource amongst the school age population in the UK. This needs to be mobilised, supported and given recognition through accreditation.”
Ofqual has published revised statistics on access arrangements for GCSEs, AS and A levels, alongside new research into the role of time pressure in assessment.
New data from The Careers & Enterprise Company (CEC) finds that around two-thirds of businesses believe a two-week block of work experience is too time-consuming and offers too little benefit.
The Youth Sport Trust has launched its latest Class of 2035 Report, warning that unless urgent action is taken to increase physical activity among children, this generation will face poorer health and outcomes.