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February 12, 2009

Anti-truancy drive removed French

Sean Coughlan:

The scrapping of compulsory modern languages in England's secondary schools was a consequence of truancy crackdowns, the BBC has learnt.

Former education secretary Estelle Morris, who took the decision in 2002, says the aim was a flexible curriculum for teenagers brought back into school.

Compulsory languages for these returned truants did not seem "appropriate".

The number of pupils taking French GCSE has dropped 30% since it ceased to be compulsory for the over-14s in 2004.

The weakness of language learning in England has been a recurrent concern - with repeated warnings that the country lags behind international competitors.

Posted by Jim Zellmer at February 12, 2009 1:33 AM
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