Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to broaden the number of foreign language subjects available to state school students in secondary education.

Maintained secondary schools must teach a modern foreign language to all pupils at key stage 3 (ages 11-14). The choice of which language or languages to teach is for schools to make, though the great majority of secondary schools teach one or more of French, German or Spanish, with small numbers teaching an additional language or languages.

Awarding bodies determine which languages they will offer as GCSE qualifications. Schools decide whether to enter pupils for any particular language GCSE. The English Baccalaureate is already encouraging more young people to take a language at GCSE level. Take-up of a modern foreign language by key stage 4 pupils in England increased by over 20% between 2012 and 2013.