Edexcel has announced this week that AS qualifications in French, German, Spanish, Chinese, Italian and Russian will be withdrawn and the final assessment opportunity will be summer 2020. To access the recent announcement, please explore the Edexcel website.
Jane Harvey, ALL President-Elect, commented on the announcement: “ALL Is disappointed to see that Edexcel will no longer offer AS levels in languages from 2020. There has been a steep decline in the numbers taking Languages post 16. AS allowed students to carry on learning a language without taking a full A-level and the disappearance of AS will have a negative effect on the numbers continuing to study a language post 16. We are keen to explore with Edexcel ways in which the Extended Project Qualification could be used to support post 16 languages. At a time when the importance of languages to the UK economy, as well as to the individual, is being increasingly recognised, it is vital that ways are found to ensure that languages retain a place in the post 16 curriculum and are accessible to the widest possible range of learners.”