British Academy responds to A-Level results

The British Academy has responded to today's A-Level results.

Chief Executive of the British Academy, Alun Evans, said:

"Within today’s A-Level results, there is good news and bad news. It is good news that the number of students taking A-Levels with strong quantitative components, such as maths and economics, continues to rise. The British Academy’s report, Count Us In, argued that our schools and colleges need to be giving children and young adults a strong, confident grasp of data from an early age, including statistical and numerical understanding. Alongside maths and science, social science and humanities subjects are ideally placed to develop these skills at school.

"However, the apparent continued decline in the popularity of modern foreign languages is disappointing. More must be done to promote the value of languages. The British Academy has repeatedly demonstrated the value of language skills to the UK economy, security and diplomacy, and our research base. Evidence from our Born Global project has shown that employers place great value on language skills, and the soft skills developed through the study of languages and other humanities and social science subjects, such as strong analytical and communication skills, an international outlook and cultural intelligence."