NEW figures show that currently, one in seven British primary school students do not have English as their first language. The British government said it would try to "bring students weak in English up to speed", the Daily Mail has reported.
According to figures released by Shadow immigration minister Damian Green, 452,388 primary school students spoke English as a second language in 2004. By last year, this figure had increased by 113,500, a rise of almost 25 percent. In some areas, English is a foreign language to more than 70 percent of four to 11-year-olds, putting enormous pressure on teaching staff. In secondary schools, the proportion of students who do not have English as their native language has increased from 8.8 percent in 2004 to 10.6 percent last year.
The soaring figures reflect the fact that immigration into the UK is now five times higher than when Labor came to power in 1997. The increase in the number of students for whom English is a second language is making life difficult for teachers. Mick Brookes, general secretary of the UK National Association of Head Teachers, said, "We are now hearing head teachers complaining that they and their schools are being unfairly judged because they have a large number of children with English as a second language. Schools are bending over backwards to accommodate these children and then Ofsted (Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills) comes in and gives them a kicking for poor overall standards."
More and more local authorities are now insisting they need more money to help cater for the dozens of languages spoken in the schools. It is estimated that educating a single non-English speaking student costs up to ￡30,000 ($43,978) a year.
The UK Department for Children, Schools and Families said, "The language of instruction in English schools is and always has been English. We have listened to concerns of head teachers and are increasing funding in the ethnic minority achievement grant to ￡206 million ($302 million) by 2010. We will also equip schools to offer effective English teaching for new arrivals, with a comprehensive support package."
