Key facts
- Cutting language courses at UK universities and schools risks undermining social mobility and vocational skills.
- Over 70 language academics at the University of Exeter are at risk of redundancy.
- The University of Nottingham is considering becoming the first Russell Group university to offer no language degrees.
- Language degrees can provide an easier pathway to elite universities due to lower competition and grade requirements.
- Former education secretaries argue these cuts disproportionately harm working-class students' life chances.
Cutting language courses at UK universities and schools risks undermining social mobility and vocational skills, according to former education secretaries and experts. The University of Exeter is considering redundancies for over 70 language academics, while the University of Nottingham proposes to eliminate all language degrees, a move that would make it the first Russell Group university to do so.
These cuts are occurring against a backdrop of financial difficulties for universities and declining GCSE and A-level entries in languages, which experts say exacerbates inequalities. David Blunkett, former Labour education secretary, stated that closing language faculties prevents a joined-up approach to learning and misses opportunities to link languages with tech, engineering, and digital fields. He described scrapping language degrees as a missed opportunity for social mobility, emphasizing the need for a revitalized language pipeline from schools.
Estelle Morris, Blunkett's successor, expressed concern that such closures send a terrible message from leading universities. She argued that while middle-class children might find alternatives, working-class children are more likely to choose locally available subjects, thus missing out on the skills and job opportunities offered by modern foreign languages.
Guardian data analysis suggests that language degrees can offer a more accessible route to selective universities, with fewer applicants per place and lower grade requirements compared to subjects like economics, computer science, law, and mathematics. For instance, at Oxford and Cambridge, around half of language applicants receive offers, compared to much lower rates for other popular subjects. The required A-level grades for single honours language degrees at elite universities are typically two to three grades lower than for other popular subjects.
Professor Lee Elliot Major of the University of Exeter highlighted that languages are a powerful pathway for social mobility, acting as a "hidden passport to elite universities." Jo Johnson, former Conservative universities minister, noted that student choice is influenced by factors such as access to school teaching, grading fears, careers advice, and local higher education options, suggesting that low demand can reflect systemic failures.
Catherine McKinnell, former school standards minister, stressed the importance of language study for all young people, emphasizing the transferable skills they provide. A Department for Education spokesperson stated that every child wanting to learn a language should have the opportunity and that financial incentives are being offered to train language teachers. The department also noted that universities are autonomous in their course decisions but that increased tuition fee caps are intended to support their financial stability and ability to offer a breadth of courses.