Languages: GCE A-level and GCSE
(asked on 18th May 2026) - View Source
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, which modern foreign languages are available as GCSE and A level qualifications in England; which European languages are not available as GCSE and A level qualifications; and what criteria are used by her Department and awarding bodies in determining whether a language qualification should be offered at GCSE and A level.
French, German and Spanish are the most widely taught modern foreign languages at GCSE and A level. In addition, qualifications are available in up to 15 languages at GCSE and 15 languages at A level. The table below outlines the languages that are taught at GCSE (or equivalent) level and/or at A level:
Language | GCSE and Equivalent | A level |
Arabic | Yes | Yes |
Bengali | Yes | Yes |
Chinese | Yes | Yes |
French | Yes | Yes |
German | Yes | Yes |
Gujarati | Yes | Yes |
Italian | Yes | Yes |
Japanese | Yes | Yes |
Modern Greek | Yes | Yes |
Modern Hebrew | Yes | Yes |
Persian | Yes | Yes |
Polish | Yes | Yes |
Portuguese | Yes | Yes |
Punjabi | Yes | Yes |
Russian | Yes | Yes |
Spanish | Yes | Yes |
Turkish | Yes | Yes |
Urdu | Yes | Yes |
Decisions about which languages to offer at GCSE in England are taken by the four independent awarding organisations: AQA, OCR, Pearson Edexcel and WJEC. These organisations may develop qualifications based on subject content set by the department. In deciding whether to offer a qualification in a particular language, awarding organisations consider a range of factors, including the cohort size expected to take exams each year (rather than the size of the speaking population), demand from schools and colleges, and the long‑term viability of the qualification.