Music and foreign languages see rise in popularity at GCSE

Students are showing an increased interest in taking GCSEs in modern foreign languages and music, exam results show.

Spanish , German and French all saw a rise in entries this year, which one expert said was a “hopeful sign” for the future of language education.

Meanwhile, entries for music GCSE were up 8.7% to 35,861 compared with 32,980 in 2023.

I think learning music is a great thing to do, and if 9% more people have reached the GCSE standard in music this year, I think we should be rejoicing about that because music is a wonderful gift

This is still lower than in 2019, when there were 38,511 entries.

Sir Ian Bauckham, Ofqual’s chief regulator, welcomed the rise in music entries.

He said: “The only thing I will say from an entirely personal point of view is that I think learning music is a great thing to do, and if 9% more people have reached the GCSE standard in music this year, I think we should be rejoicing about that because music is a wonderful gift.”

There have been concerns in recent years that humanities and arts-based subjects were declining in popularity as students instead picked science-based and maths subjects to study.

But the latest results show that within these areas, some GCSEs are bucking the trend.

As well as music, entries for art and design subjects were up 5.4%, following a decline in recent years.

In modern foreign languages, Spanish continued its march of popularity, with entries up 6.2%.

It means the language is closing the gap on French, which remains the most popular language at GCSE by a narrow margin.

There were 134,651 entries for French this year, up 2.9% on 2023 when there were 130,901 entries.

We are genuinely optimistic about today’s results, which offer a hopeful sign that the tides may be turning for language education

Entries for the subject had stalled in recent years, with 130,831 entries in 2019.

And there is new enthusiasm for German, reversing a recent decline in popularity.

There were 35,913 entries for German GCSE this year, up 3.5% from 34,707. This is still down on 2019 when entry numbers stood at 42,791.

Vicky Gough, British Council schools adviser, said the increases were “encouraging”, noting there had been a concerted effort to raise the standard of language education through the National Consortium for Language Education’s (NCLE) Language Hubs programme.

She added: “Spanish, meanwhile, continues its remarkable rise in popularity, largely due to its perceived ‘usefulness’ — it’s spoken in many countries, has a strong presence in pop culture and media, and Spain remains a favourite destination for British tourists.

“We are genuinely optimistic about today’s results, which offer a hopeful sign that the tides may be turning for language education.”

The Joint Council for Qualifications’ figures, which cover England, Wales and Northern Ireland, also show that Polish has replaced Chinese as the most popular language GCSE after French, German and Spanish.

Ms Gough said: ““The increase in Polish entries may be attributed to the growing support for pupils who speak a language other than English at home, often referred to as home, heritage, and community languages (HHCL).

“According to our latest Language Trends report, 79% of state secondary schools in England are now helping students take examinations in these languages.”

Earlier this year, England’s exams regulator Ofqual ruled there should be adjustments to grading standards for French, German and computer science GCSEs, which it said would have “a small impact” on results.

Exam boards were required to award French and German GCSEs “more generously” to better align them with other subjects.

The move came amid concerns that the popularity of French and German at GCSE has dropped over the past 14 years.

An analysis of GCSE results also shows that entries for business studies increased by 9.7% this year, making it the 12th most popular subject overall, up from 14th last year.

Professor Julia Black, president of the British Academy said: “It’s encouraging to see that SHAPE (social sciences, humanities and the arts for people and the economy) subjects such as music, economics and several modern languages are increasingly popular this year – long may that continue.

“The British Academy’s research shows that social sciences and humanities subjects furnish students with an understanding of people, societies and cultures – which are needed to problem-solve in an increasingly challenging and volatile world.”

The Department for Education said arts were a “vital” part of a broad and balanced curriculum and that their planned Curriculum and Assessment Review would bring together education experts, leaders and staff to ensure all children had access to a broad curriculum and that arts and music were not “the preserve of a privileged few”.