Charity campaigns to extend available community language examinations

A recent report in the Times Educational Supplement (15.06.12) has highlighted a campaign to extend the number of community language GCSE equivalent qualifications available to pupils. Whilst the annual publication of findings from the Language Trends survey reveals that maintained schools are dropping alternative language accreditations such as Asset Languages and NVQ Language units after a steady period of growth due to the impact of the EBacc, Asset Language qualifications at Level 3 can still be counted towards the five A*-C measurement in the secondary school league tables. They also offer the chance to recognise and reward language learning achievement at KS2, KS3, KS4 and KS5, through to higher and adult education through the qualifications which are linked to the Language Ladder

Asset Language qualifications which have been developed by OCR exam board, are available in 25 languages but not all of these are available at Level 3. According to the TES report, the charity Citizens UK is lobbying to make qualifications available in an extended range of languages, the first being Albanian. The charity notes that it would need to raise £100,000 to support this, as well as having firm commitments from groups that this examination is sufficiently in demand.

The OCR website gives more details of points equivalencies.