Question to the Department for Education:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to establish a GCSE course in the Kurdish language; and what support the Department for Education provides for the teaching of this language.

There are no current plans to add additional language GCSEs to the existing range of subjects. It is exam boards who are responsible for deciding, based on the existing modern foreign languages subject content, which language GCSEs are offered. The government would support an exam board in developing a language GCSE, including in Kurdish, if the board considered there was a strong case to do so, including sufficient demand.

It is up to schools to decide which languages are taught as part of their curriculum in both primary and secondary schools. There are several supplementary schools in England which teach Kurdish to children and young people outside of their regular schooling, where parents may choose to send their children for Kurdish tuition. Further information on supplementary schools can be found on the National Resource Centre for Supplementary Education’s website at: www.supplementaryeducation.org.uk.