To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what representations (a) his Department and (b) the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority has received about grade boundaries for modern language GCSE courses; what steps are being taken in response to those representations; and if he will make a statement. (164133)

Lord Dearing’s Languages Review, published in March 2007, identified the need to resolve the widely held perception that languages GCSEs are harder than other subjects. The review recognised that there are other reasons pupils do not perform as well in languages as in other subjects, such as the quality of teaching and the motivation of the pupil.

As a result, the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA), as the regulator with responsibility for standards in GCSE, is looking at the issue. In the course of this work the QCA has received several representations from schools about grade boundaries for modern foreign languages. It is currently finalising its response.