The German government's enlightened decision on Latin

I've just had an email from someone teaching in an international college in this country which made me sit up and raise a silent cheer:

Several of our German students take the Latin GCSE because they need certification in a third language in order to get their Mittelereife school certificate (the equivalent of GCSE). In the past this was a subject that was done only sparingly as they didn't need to sit the examination, just have lessons. However, in the last year the German government decided that they also needed to pass the GCSE.

If Germany can do it ….