Language teachers and pupils at Ripon Grammar School are on top of the world after receiving high praise from schools minister Nick Gibb.
Mr Gibb applauds RGS for its commitment to the teaching of languages, making it among the top schools in England for the proportion of pupils studying a language at GCSE.
In a letter to headmaster Jonathan Webb, he congratulates staff and pupils for their hard work and success, adding: “Thank you for your leadership in continuing to promote the teaching of languages.”
Mr Gibb, who recently launched a drive to increase the take-up of foreign languages, has described the decision to scrap compulsory languages at GCSE in 2004 as a ‘mistake’ and is concerned some languages are increasingly seen as elite subjects
“Languages are an important part of a broad and balanced curriculum,” he says in his letter.
Students at RGS study at least one language at GCSE, choosing from French, German and Spanish, with around two thirds of students achieving a grade 7 or above.
A large number – around 30 each year – take a language at A-level, with more than 80 per cent of pupils achieving A*-B grades.
RGS head of modern foreign languages Claire-Lise Harrison said Mr Gibb’s letter came as a nice surprise.
“We are very pleased all our students have a free choice of French, German or Spanish. Language GCSEs are extremely challenging, so it is good that language learning is thriving in our school community,” she says.
In his letter, Mr Gibb points out that the number of pupils entered for at least one modern foreign language at GCSE makes RGS amongst the top schools in England for the proportion of pupils studying a language.
“In an increasingly globalised economy it has never been more important for our pupils to be taught modern foreign languages. Languages help young people understand culture and societies beyond our own and they help widen career opportunities,” he adds.
Mr Gibb, who reports to Gillian Keegan, the new education secretary, wants to ensure young people aged 14 to 18, from whatever background are encouraged to take the languages that the children of more affluent families take for granted.
Having recently become schools minister for the third time, he is keen to promote the take-up of German in particular with the number of teenagers studying the subject having nosedived in recent years. Fewer than 2,000 state school pupils took the language at A-level in England this summer.
Private schools accounted for 29 per cent of all A-level entries in German this year and it is increasingly seen as a niche or elite subject, a situation Mr Gibb has described as ‘concerning’.
Categories: Ripon Grammar School School News
