Association for Language Learning

Statement on 2024 GCSE results

ALL welcomed the announcement from Ofqual in July about completing the adjustments to bring grading in GCSE French and German in line with GCSE Spanish. These adjustments were originally announced in 2019, interrupted by the pandemic, with the first phase implemented in 2023, and this is the final phase for June 2024.

This requirement for the exam boards to make positive adjustments to the grades awarded is good news for all those taking French and German GCSE exams this summer and onwards with the percentage gaining grade 7 or above in French rising from 26% in 2023 to 28% in 2024, in German from 27.6% to 32.1%, and with Spanish rising slightly from 26.1% to 26.7%. The percentage gaining grade 4 or above in French has risen from 71.2% in 2023 to 71.7% in 2024, in German from 77.2% to 77.8%, and in Spanish from 70% to 70.5%. It is really important when looking at raw percentages of grades awarded to note that the three languages (French, German and Spanish) have different and changing ability profiles, which affects the distribution of grades awarded e.g. Spanish has a broader profile than German which has a high proportion of students with high prior attainment (more details in blogpost by Helen Myers, ALL Trustee). The numbers taking Spanish have risen from 120,198 to 127,832, and this is slightly higher than the overall increase in students and entries from 2023 to 2024 of 4.7%. French and German entries have also risen but by less than that overall increase. Spanish is now virtually the same as French (129,026), with German entries of 34,708.

ALL will continue to argue that there should be a greater adjustment to all three languages so that pupils will see that their GCSE grades in ML are comparable, on average, with their grades in other EBacc subjects, rather than thinking (incorrectly) that they are not as good at ML as in other EBacc subjects. In the meantime though, we hope that this change will encourage students and teachers of ML.

There has also been a marked increase in the number taking other languages (from 39,896 last year to 43,121), and ALL is keen to support and encourage the delivery of Home, Heritage and Community Languages (HHCL) and the work of the supplementary schools.

ALL President Liz Black comments on this year’s results: “We send our congratulations to all the students receiving their GCSE examination results today. Their results in many different languages, including home languages, are the result of dedicated study over the past few years and you should be very proud of yourselves. We encourage those successful GCSE students to think about continuing studying languages and talk to their teachers about the choices available to them. I'd like to say a massive 'Thank you' to all the teachers of languages in our schools for your dedication too. There are teachers in all sectors helping students every day to achieve their best, including teachers in supplementary schools who dedicate time on Saturdays too. Thank you so very much and congratulations from everyone at ALL.”

End.