Andrew Dismore

Andrew Dismore, Labour London Assembly Member for Barnet and Camden, has raised with Secretary of State Michael Gove and Mayor Boris Johnson the exclusion of Hebrew from the list of prescribed languages that are to be taught in primary schools. (Letters attached)

Mr Dismore said:

“It is outrageous that Hebrew (either ancient tor modern) is not included in the official list of only 7 languages – yet ancient Greek and Latin are.

With 92% of British Jewish students having visited Israel, and with so many British Jews with relatives who are Israeli or live in Israel, it can be seen that Hebrew, unlike some other languages on the list, is a language that can and will actually be used actively and is not just an academic subject.

If the object is to introduce academic rigour then that is delivered by the teaching of Hebrew just as much as any of the others on the list.

If the object is to equip today’s students with a language they will actually use, then Hebrew is for more useful than Latin or ancient Greek with whom there is no-one to converse.

If the object is to look to future business opportunities for the country, then Israel’s high tech industry is highly relevant to the economy of the future, and we should do all we can to help build trading links and commercial partnerships for which Hebrew is important too.

I fully support the idea of children learning another language, having studied languages myself, but the choice is best left to the teachers and schools on the ground, not to Whitehall mandarins. Michael Gove must think again and add Hebrew to the list.”

To read the letter to Michael Gove  – Michael Gove RE Languages 13032013

To read the letter to Boris Johnson – Boris Johnson RE Michael Gove Languages 13032013