The petition to keep the Greek language A-level was initiated by the Hellenic Education Coordinating Committee in the UK.
This committee are fighting to oppose Edexcel’s initial decision to stop the GCE AS and A-level Modern Greek examinations from 2017. Here are nine reasons we should fight to keep Greek as an A-level:
1) The Greek language is one of the official languages spoken in the EU. It is spoken in two EU countries.
2) The EU has a policy to support language learning and linguistic diversity therefore stopping Greek A-levels goes against this.
3) This is a disaster for the local Greek and Cypriot population who want to pass on their wonderful culture and language to their children.
4) There’s now more Greek immigration due to the economy in Greece. It’s therefore natural if immigrants should stay here that their children learn their mother tongue. If Greek A-level was not an option to them they would feel excluded in the UK – a country with a multicultural environment.
5) What about all the other people who want to learn Greek? If A-level is not an option this will be a lot harder for them to achieve.
6) Languages are a rich part of our society. The University of Nottingham’s Classics degree offers the chance to study Greek alongside to gain a better understanding of Classics. Greek A-level would be a huge help towards a Classics or language degree. Why should we have to wait until university to begin learning it?
7) In the same vain Greek is a highly respected language linked to classics, history, religion and literature: think Aristotle. Nikolaos Grigoriadis, one of people who signed this petition, wrote: the “Greek language (…) is a ‘brain shaping’ language. It would be a disaster for our global society to abandon the origin and inspiration for progress of our current civilization in Europe.”
8) With jobs highly desiring EU languages (and languages in general) why would we take Greek off the A-level list?
9) And finally…
Please sign the petition here to make a real difference. They need 1,441 more signatures to reach their total: Sign The Petition Here!