A-level results show that standards remain high, but languages are a cause for concern

Despite a marginal fall in top A-level grades, it is clear from this year’s results that educational standards remain high in England and Wales – as they do in Scotland, where 18-year-olds received exam results earlier in the month. The number of teenagers securing places at university has reached a record level, primarily because the old degree cap has now come to an end: institutions can take on as many students as they want to, subject to sufficient demand.

The gender gap in attainment between boys and girls is more or less non-existent at the top end: 25.9 per cent of girls were awarded A* or A grades, compared to 25.8 per cent of boys. There is a slight widening when the A*-C category is taken as a whole, with girls out-performing boys by 79.7 per cent to 75 per cent. Still, the playing field appears more level than it did a decade ago.

Another positive from this year’s results is the continued trend towards students taking “core” subjects. The days when media studies or critical thinking were among the top choices appear to be long gone. Critical thinking was taken by just over 100 students this year. The most popular subject remains maths, followed by English. Biology, Chemistry, Physics, History and Geography all feature in the top 10. Michael Gove, unpopular as he may have been among many teachers, played an important role in reversing the fashion for less academically rigorous disciplines. There is more to be done to encourage girls in particular to plump for the sciences, but things are moving in the right direction.

If there is an obvious lacuna in the academic interests of British teenagers, it is in modern languages. The number of children studying French to A-level has fallen by around 50 per cent in eight years to fewer than 10,000. Only around 3,800 youngsters took German. There was also a fall in those studying Spanish, which had previously bucked the anti-languages drift, to 8,460. Those taking Chinese fell too, by 8 per cent.

With a foreign language having not been compulsory at GCSE since 2004, the lack of interest at A-level is perhaps unsurprising. But it ought to worry us – even more so as we head towards the European Union’s exit doors. It has been estimated by the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Modern Languages that our failure to communicate in anything other than our mother tongue costs Britain up to £50bn a year in lost trade. At a moment when much of the world may be wondering whether Brexit equates to UK isolationism, a shift in our attitude to foreign languages would send a strong message that Britain hasn’t turned its back on other cultures. The National Association of Head Teachers has called for a national strategy to stem the decline in children’s linguistic ability; the Government would be wise to listen.

Perhaps the greatest test for the current cohort of sixth-formers remains whether they make the transition to university successfully. The step up to degree level has always been a significant one – and rightly so – but the increase in numbers being offered places at higher education institutions will mean there is more pressure than ever to ensure young people make the grade. This year’s intake will beat last year’s record, which followed the lifting of the historic cap. More than 424,000 students have already been made university offers, and the number will rise through clearing. There is clearly an appetite for degree courses.

However, it is imperative that universities do not encourage entrants who are actually ill-suited to undergraduate life. With more students on their books, it is also vital that universities have sufficient resources to teach courses effectively. In recent years the revitalisation of apprentice schemes has been a welcome development, offering routes in to work for many top-class students who decided that university wasn’t for them. With degrees now an option for ever greater numbers, the Government must ensure it does not allow the value of apprenticeships, and other non-degree options, to be diminished.