Undergraduate language programmes in England: A widening participation crisis

England has a language education crisis: fewer people are studying languages at school and university language programmes are closing. This study analyses data from the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS), the UK admissions service for higher education. The study quantifies how entry tariff and socioeconomic background affect access to language degree programmes. The results show that (1) the number of students studying languages and number of languages offered correlate with entry tariff and (2) the probability of a university offering languages and probability of it offering a range of at least five languages correlate with entry tariff and the percentage of students from less privileged socioeconomic backgrounds. Thus a widening participation crisis is highlighted: while many young people are unable to access language degree programmes, a small proportion, with the highest tariffs, can choose from a range of at least five languages. To combat the crisis, a Widening Participation Languages Network has been launched, supporting universities offering languages at below-average entry tariffs.