How will the proposals for the English Bac affect us and when?
The proposals for an English Baccalaureate will be discussed further as part of the review of the curriculum this autumn. Michael Gove’s speech in September 2010 stated that pupils who study a range of GCSE subjects including a language would be given special recognition in the form of an English Baccalaureate. He said ‘I’m proposing that the Government look at how many young people in each secondary school secure five good GCSEs including: English, Maths, a Science, a Modern or Ancient language and a humanity like History or Geography, Art or Music.’ He went on to stress the government’s commitment to language learning, saying ‘I am deeply concerned that fewer and fewer students are studying languages, it not only breeds insularity, it means an integral part of the brain’s learning capacity rusts unused.’ We do not yet have details of the timings for these proposals but will update this FAQ as soon as we know.
