Lobbying and Press - key points
You may wish to write to your MP, the Secretary of State, Ofqual or others to voice your concerns.
Below is some information you may find useful.
Context
• Between 2010 and 2014 there has been a 25% growth in the number of entries in KS4 Latin
examinations.
• In 2014 exam entries were higher than they had been in 17 years. This growth had come almost
exclusively from the non-selective state sector which saw a growth of 115% (149 schools),
brought on predominantly by the introduction of the WJEC Level 2 certificates.
• These certificates are accessible to a wider ability range of abilities and the content can be
delivered, on average, in around 90 hours less than the OCR GCSE. Importantly, the WJEC
certificates split the study of Language and Literature into separate qualifications, so that
schools can choose combinations to fit the needs and abilities of students.
Change in qualifications
• The government has decided that from Summer 2018 the WJEC certificates will lose their
performance points and EBacc status.
• Any school wishing to access a qualification at KS4 will therefore need to offer the new GCSEs,
of which the content has been set by the DfE. Both OCR and WJEC will offer GCSEs meeting
these requirements. The new content specification is almost identical to the content of the
current OCR GCSE and includes the study of at least 110 lines of Latin literature.
Teaching time
• On average schools take 342 hours to deliver the existing OCR GCSE, equating to over 5.5
years’ teaching at 1.5 hours/week. This is 90 hours more than the average to deliver the WJEC
certificates (equating to a difference of 1.5 years’ teaching time).
• Many schools currently offering WJEC certificates in language and civilisation or additional
language will struggle to find the additional teaching time to cover the new content, especially
the compulsory literature section.
Accessibility
• The current OCR GCSE is taught almost exclusively to the top 30% of the national ability range:
in 63% of schools currently offering the OCR Latin GCSE, the weakest Latin pupils achieve A*B grades in their other subjects, while 44% of all candidates on this exam achieved an A*.
• The change in qualifications, combined with the WJEC certificates’ loss of performance points,
will make Latin even less accessible.
• Teachers from a range of schools stated at a University of Cambridge conference in June 2014
that the content of the new GCSE could not be taught to the full ability range, even if they
had 4 years of teaching time.
Grading
• The structure of the new grading system allows only 20% of those achieving a grade 7 or above
to attain the top grade.
• Research by Coe, at the University of Durham, shows that already Latin is the most severely
graded subject, and pupils typically achieve one grade lower on Latin than their other subjects.
• The impact of the new grading system will mean students achieving 9s in all their other subjects
and deserving a 9 in Latin will be likely to be given an 8 because the quality of their peers is so
high. While 44% of pupils achieve A*s on the current GCSE, only 14% would on the new
GCSE.
• The difficulty and volume of content of the new Latin GCSE is exceptional and will only attract
and be accessible to the most able students. It therefore should not be subject to grade capping
which works only in subjects with a great spread of abilities and grades.
• The current severe grading of Latin discourages students from taking it and the new grading
system is likely to discourage students, parents and schools further.
Projected outcomes
• The WJEC certificates’ loss of performance points and EBacc status are likely to lead to a return
to the situation of Latin teaching in 2008, reversing the growth in the non-selective state sector
initiated by the introduction of the WJEC certificates.
• The increased volume of content and particularly the compulsory study of literature will require
more teaching hours, which in many cases will not be available. Teachers may be forced to limit
the range of students to whom Latin is offered, driving down class sizes and making
departments unviable.
• It is expected that many Latin departments, particularly whose which recently opened in nonselective state schools, will face decline or closure as a result of the changes to the
qualifications. Research undertaken by CSCP in January 2015 showed that 53% of existing
Latin departments in non-selective state schools say they will either close or decline.
Who to write to
Your local MP
find your MP here: http://www.parliament.uk/mps-lords-and-offices/mps/
Nicky Morgan (Education Secretary)
Department for Education,
Ministerial and Public Communications Division,
Piccadilly Gate,
Store Street,
Manchester, M1 2WD
Nick Gibb (Minister of State at the DfE)
see address above
Ofqual
Spring Place
Herald Avenue
Coventry
CV5 8BA
or email at: public.enquiries@ofqual.gov.uk