It is extended to PE. Schools usually have school teams. Those who are not good at sport are not selected for the teams. No-one has ever batted an eye about this form of selection! It is usually a win, win, win attitude and the poor performers are excluded.
Just one correction from an earlier post: It is Structural Engineers who design bridges. This is a branch of Civil Engineering but requires a further qualification. Yes, there are shortages in all sorts of STEM posts.
You cannot, however, make a linguist do STEM A levels. It is simply not possible for everyone to do STEM to a high level and there are plenty doing these subjects already who are second rate. My husband has employed a few who cannot cut it in the workplace, but have all the qualifications. They have no business acumen however and make basic mistakes so they are a considerable cost to the company, even after extensive training.
There is a need for people to understand different cultures and bring a mix of experiences to the workplace. Speaking another language is only part of a linguist's skill set. They have lots of other skills too and these should not be overlooked by any progressive country.