16/05/2016
OCR confirmed today that it will not be resubmitting any of its draft French, German or Spanish GCSEs or AS/A Levels for further accreditation review and will therefore be withdrawing from the provision of GCSEs and AS/A Levels in these subjects at the end of the current courses.
OCR has reluctantly taken this decision now so teachers can make alternative plans for next academic year. We will be working with schools to support them through these changes.
While qualification reform provided an exciting opportunity to innovate and offer new qualifications designed to stimulate language teaching and learning in this country, there is too much work to be done for OCR to achieve accreditation of its new Modern Foreign Language (MFL) qualifications in time for teachers to make a considered choice about new qualifications for this September. Fewer than 10% of students take OCR's current MFL qualifications.
OCR's Chief Executive William Burton said: "We would like to thank all those who contributed their expertise to OCR’s vision for a new style of MFL GCSE and A Level for schools. The input of teachers and subject experts from across the wider education community has been invaluable. This difficult decision comes from a combination of factors, including our different vision for language learning, the time we would need to prepare a further, highly technical submission, as well as the challenging economic climate in which OCR is operating. I believe it is in the best interests of MFL teachers to have clarity about what will be available at a time when they are making crucial decisions on behalf of their students."
OCR's existing range of MFL qualifications is being withdrawn, with final GCSE and AS/A Level assessments in summer 2017, and last resits for AS/A Level only in summer 2018.
While OCR regrets the loss of these subjects from its qualification portfolio, it will still offer a broad range of qualifications. MFL qualifications will also continue to be available through sister exam board Cambridge International Examinations at both 14-16, with Cambridge IGCSEs, and at 16-19 with Cambridge International A Levels and the Cambridge Pre-U.