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STEPHEN LEWIS reports on why, ideally, we should be turning out a generation of Chinese or Russian-speaking physicists, not more English and art graduates.

TEENAGERS across the region are bracing themselves for their A-level results later this week. For many, it will mean celebration. Others face disappointment. All are likely to be infuriated by the annual claims that A-levels are too easy these days and not the 'gold standard' they once were.

Now there is another worry. According to business leaders, many of them have been studying the wrong subjects.

In a ferocious attack on our educational culture Sir Digby Jones, director-general of the Confederation of British Industry, has warned too many young people are turning their backs on science and languages at school. And that, he says, threatens Britain's future economic prosperity.

The CBI has carried out its own analysis of Government figures, which it claims reveals:

The number of 16 to 18-year-olds taking A Level physics more than halved between 1984 and 2004, while chemistry declined by a third

Just one in 25 students study a modern language at A Level - down by a fifth between 1999 and 2004. German and French were down 34 and 30 per cent respectively - and "very few" students were studying Mandarin Chinese, Russian or Spanish, languages the CBI says will be most needed by business in an increasingly globalised world.

Sir Digby said: "The strength and future success of the UK economy relies on the education system producing students of a high calibre in disciplines such as science and languages.

"Britain is the country of Stephenson and Brunel, Watson and Crick, Sir Frank Whittle and Stephen Hawking - but while its heritage is rich with scientific achievement and engineering endeavour, the future is less certain.

"Youngsters need to be equipped with the skills to make their way in the competitive globalised economy of the 21st century and business must have them if it is to meet the onslaught from countries like China and India. China alone produces almost 300,000 high quality science and engineering graduates each year.

"Science, engineering and technology skills are the essential building blocks of research and development. Without innovation and the ability to secure advantage the UK cannot hope to challenge these emerging markets as they invest huge resources into producing top quality graduates."

When it came to languages, one fifth of companies in the UK believed they had lost business because of a lack of language and cultural skills, while one quarter had experienced problems handling international business, Sir Digby added.

He said: "Anyone who can clinch a deal in Argentina because of a grasp of Spanish, give directions to an Italian family visiting a tourist information office in the Lake District or work with a Chinese sporting delegation in London for the Olympics, will be of immense value to business and Britain.

"The decline of French and German would be of limited consequence if young people were instead learning Spanish or Mandarin, equipping them to do business across the world in the 21st century's global economy.

"We must change our cultural attitude: we are an island race but must embrace the world and speak its languages if we want to be in the pole position for business."

So do we need to be making more of an effort to teach science and languages in school?

John Thompson, regional director for Yorkshire of the Institute of Directors, thinks yes. Too many young people simply take the easy option when choosing what A levels to study, he claimed - and shy away from so-called "difficult" subjects such as science and languages.

We continue to underestimate China as a business competitor at our peril, said Mr Thompson. As for science and technology: "It has been a concern for a number of years that science and physics subjects have dropped off," he said.

Andrew Lindsay, president of the York and North Yorkshire Chamber of Commerce and a partner in solicitors Denison Till, shares that concern - and would like to see business added to the list of subjects being taught to pupils from an early age, for good measure.

He is not so concerned about languages - in many ways, he points out, English has become the accepted international language of business. But he does worry about our attitude towards maths and the sciences - and the fact that so many people opt for arts A levels because they see them as easier.

It goes beyond that, however: maths and sciences in the UK seem to be perceived as uncool and even nerdish, Mr Lindsay fears. We could learn a thing or two from Germany, he believes. "If you study science or technology in Germany, you're not thought of as a bit of a buffoon."

One of the biggest employers in York - Nestle - is actually a science-based company, he points out - relying on technology, research and development to produce its chocolate. It's a reminder of how closely involved science is with every aspect of our lives - and of how important it is that we as a nation don't turn our backs on it.

Coun Carol Runciman, the executive member for education on City of York Council, agrees. She is particularly concerned about our national refusal to take maths seriously, since maths is the key to physics and much of engineering and technology.

"We have a culture in this country which says it is OK not to be good at maths," she said. Literacy is taken very seriously in the UK, she points out. "But if you're innumerate, people seem to think that's OK. It is not."

Unfortunately, changing that perception is not going to be easy: since we now have a national shortage of properly trained maths teachers.

What about languages? Coun Runciman, like Andrew Lindsay, doesn't see that as being so much of a problem. She would like to see languages being taught in schools much earlier - from primary school level - because that, she says, is the age at which young children are able to soak up language. But she, like Andrew Lindsay, believes English is the established language of international business.

Trying to introduce Chinese and Russian classes into secondary schools at the drop of a hat wouldn't anyway be practical, she says - partly because the scripts are so different, and partly because there would be no one to teach them. It wouldn't be good enough just to employ native speakers of Chinese and Russian, Coun Runciman says you would need properly-trained teachers. "Being able to speak a language is not the same as being able to teach it."

Ann Gregory, head of the modern foreign languages programme at York St John College, doesn't share the view of Coun Runciman and Andrew Lindsay that UK businesses can afford to rely upon English being the international language of business.

"You can buy in any language," she said. "But if you're trying to sell, you have to do it in the language of the person you're selling to." She is deeply worried that at some schools, children are allowed to opt out of learning a foreign language at the age of 14.

There is, however, hope on the horizon. Under new Government proposals, by 2010, all primary school students should be entitled to four years of proper foreign language learning before they start secondary school. That should mean much more emphasis being placed on the importance of foreign language learning throughout school.

There would still be barriers in the way. At the moment, foreign languages are not a compulsory part of the school curriculum at Key Stage 4, points out John Needham, regional organiser for Yorkshire of teachers' union NASUWT. If they were to become so, something would have to give. "Consideration would have to be given to which existing subjects would be dropped as new ones were introduced," said John.

It's also probably true that even if more emphasis is put on language learning in future, Russian or Chinese may well not be the first foreign languages a child is introduced to at primary school. It would probably be more effective to introduce them to other European languages that seem more familiar, and use those as a way of teaching children how to set about learning a foreign language, says Ann Gregory.

That may pave the way to introduce them to more exotic languages later in their school life.

Which will give parents a new headache. How are you going to help your child with their Chinese homework? French is bad enough.

Updated: 11:15 Tuesday, August 16, 2005