The Education (National Curriculum) (Modern Foreign Languages) Order 1991

Made: 11th November 1991

Laid before Parliament: 18th November 1991

Coming into force: 1st January 1992

In exercise of the powers conferred on the Secretary of State by sections 3(2)(b) and 232(5) of the Education Reform Act 1988[^f00001], the Secretary of State for Education and Science, as respects England, and the Secretary of State for Wales, as respects Wales, hereby make the following Order:

1

• (1) This Order may be cited as the Education (National Curriculum) (Modern Foreign Languages) Order 1991 and shall come into force on 1st January 1992.

• (2) In this order—

• references to the third and fourth key stages are references to the periods set out in section 3(3)(c) and (d) respectively of the Education Reform Act 1988;

• references to relevant pupils are references to pupils in the third and fourth key stages in respect of whom there is a requirement to study a modern foreign language as a foundation subject; and

• references to official languages of the European Community are to languages specified as official languages of the institutions of the European Community by Article 1 of EEC Council Regulation No. 1 of April 15, 1958[^f00002].

2

The Education (National Curriculum) (Modern Foreign Languages) Order 1989[^f00003] is hereby revoked.

3

• (1) Subject to paragraph (2), the modern foreign languages listed in the Schedule to this Order are hereby specified as foundation subjects in relation to the third and fourth key stages.

• (2) Any language listed in the Schedule which is not an official language of the European Community is not a foundation subject unless the condition set out in paragraph (3) is satisfied.

• (3) The condition referred to in paragraph (2) is that the school at which the language is taught also offers all relevant pupils the opportunity of studying one or more of the official languages of the European Community listed in the Schedule for the purposes of the National Curriculum.

SCHEDULE

• Arabic

• Bengali

• Chinese (Cantonese or Mandarin)

• Danish

• Dutch

• French

• German

• Greek (Modern)

• Gujarati

• Hebrew (Modern)

• Hindi

• Italian

• Japanese

• Panjabi

• Portugese

• Russian

• Spanish

• Turkish

• Urdu

Signed

Kenneth Clarke — Secretary of State for Education and Science — 11th November 1991

David Hunt — Secretary of State for Wales — 11th November 1991

Explanatory note

(This note is not part of the Order)

Section 3(2)(b) of the Education Reform Act 1988 provides that a modern language specified in an Order made by the Secretary of State shall be one of the foundation subjects which comprise the National Curriculum. Such a language is to be studied by pupils in the third and fourth key stages, that is to say from the beginning of the school year when the majority of pupils in the class reach the age of twelve until the majority of those pupils cease to be of compulsory school age.

This Order specifies those languages. Those in the Schedule which are one of the official languages of the European Community are foundation subjects in any circumstances. Those other languages listed will only be foundation subjects if the school concerned also offers pupils who are required to study a modern foreign language as part of the National Curriculum the alternative of studying at least one of the official languages of the European Community as a foundation subject.

This Order replaces the Education (National Curriculum) (Modern Foreign Languages) Order 1989. There are no changes of substance only changes of format.

Footnotes

[^f00001]: 1988 c. 40.

[^f00002]: J.O. 1958, 385; O.J. 1952-58, 59. Article 1 was amended by successive Acts of Accession, most recently by that of the Kingdom of Spain and the Portugese Republic.

[^f00003]: S.I. 1989/825.