Uptake of international languages at GCSE increases in Wales in “most significant rise for 15 years”

The number of students choosing to study an International Language (French, Spanish or German) at GCSE has increased over two consecutive academic years in Wales, analysis from Cardiff University shows.

Lucy Jenkins, Director and Principal Investigator of the MFL Mentoring project, says the figures represent a “significant and symbolic moment”, following a long-term decline in uptake since 2008.

The project’s analysis of data from StatsWales, which records the number of people entered for GCSEs in French, Spanish and German, shows an increase of 3.4%, equivalent to 115 additional entries, in 2022-23 to 2023-24. This is followed by a 9.6% increase, an additional 342 entries, between 2023-24 and 2024-25.

Lucy Jenkins, based at Cardiff University’s School of Modern Languages, said: “These increases represent a significant and symbolic moment for GCSE International Languages in Wales, given that the only other increase in entries recorded since 2008 was in 2012-13 where entry numbers increased by only +0.4%, equivalent to 32 entries.

“It is also the first time, since examinations entry data started to be publicly accessible via StatsWales in 2008, that there has been an overall rise in GCSE entries across International Languages collectively over the course of two consecutive academic years.”

She added: “While it is important to celebrate the most significant overall increases seen in more than 15 years across French, Spanish and German collectively, it is also important to recognise that concerning trends for individual languages, particularly for GCSE German, continue to prevail.

“It is also critical to note that the good news for GCSE entry numbers is partnered with worrying news for A Level entries which, according to provisional StatsWales data, shows a single year decrease in uptake across French, German and Spanish of -33%, down by 86 entries, including a significant decrease of -43% (-63 entries) in entries for French A Level in a single year.”

MFL Mentoring is a groundbreaking programme which aims to encourage more young people to take up international languages, such as French, Spanish and German at GCSE and beyond. The project’s success over the past decade has led to three years of renewed funding from the Welsh Government, with its work contributing to the Welsh Government’s Global Futures strategy since 2015.

Students from across universities in Wales are provided with professional mentor training before being assigned a group of year 8 or 9 learners to work with. These learners are largely those who indicate they are ‘unsure’ about studying an International Language at GCSE in a survey undertaken prior to the mentoring sessions.

Over the course of six sessions, undergraduate or postgraduate students share their language learning journeys with their younger peers, exploring the career opportunities that come with languages, as well as the many personal benefits, such as improved confidence and opportunities to travel.

The initiative now has a presence in more than 100 secondary schools across Wales, with the latest evaluation showing 68% of learners agreed that the mentoring scheme changed their perception of language learning.

The project also collects data on young people’s wider perceptions of learning languages, some of which is now publicly accessible through its data dashboard, offering educators, practitioners, researchers and the public important insights into the views of young people.

Lucy Jenkins said: “Our data shows there is huge potential for increasing the number of learners choosing an international language at GCSE; learners are interested in a vast variety of languages in years eight and nine, but they do not make their choices in isolation. Learners say that one of the main barriers to choosing a language at GCSE is that they want to choose another subject more– so how can we make languages more appealing amongst an increasingly diverse set of subject choices at GCSE? It’s also clear that learners do not understand the vast range of skills they acquire from learning a language, nor their significant relevance to their future pathways."

“We must look to understand what has sparked the increase in overall uptake in the last two years; actively tackle the decline in German GCSE; further illuminate the barriers that continue to impede International Languages uptake, particularly at A Level; and amplify the voice of learners to shape what we do and how we do it over the coming years. The data provided through MFL Mentoring gives us the opportunity to be truly learner-led in the way that we tackle these challenges; challenges that must also be met with support from policy.”