Modern languages in 'terminal decline' in schools, says Scottish Labour
The drop comes despite the overall S4 to S6 school roll rising by more than 10,500 pupils over the same period
Scottish Labour has said it believes the learning of foreign languages in schools is in "terminal decline" after figures revealed a sharp drop in the number of students over the last four years.
Statistics show the number of pupils choosing to learn modern languages between National 4 and Higher level has fallen from 24,510 in 2019 to 23,990 in 2023.
The drop comes despite the overall S4 to S6 school roll rising by more than 10,500 pupils over the same period.
Scottish Labour said the fall is most evident at the Higher level as 6,735 pupils picked modern language Highers in 2019 but this dropped to 5,080 pupils in 2023.
Figures show the number of foreign language teachers in schools has also fallen from around 1,700 in 2008 to fewer than 1,400 in 2023.
The statistics emerged just weeks after Aberdeen University announced it was considering scrapping modern language degrees, citing a lack of students interested in taking the courses.
The university later said it would no longer offer single honours degrees in modern languages from September 2024 but would continue to offer joint honours degree programmes in languages.
Scottish Labour described the learning of foreign languages as a "vital skill" that helps young people to gain work in international fields.
The party believes what it termed as the government's "failed approach" to modern languages is holding back the people of Scotland and its economy.
Education spokesperson Pam Duncan-Glancy MSP said: "The chance to learn a foreign language is incredibly important but under the SNP the learning of modern languages is in terminal decline.
"We now face a situation where the number of pupils learning a foreign language is in freefall, the number of modern languages teachers is falling and universities are considering abandoning courses altogether.
"The young people of Scotland should not miss out on the enormous cultural, economic and personal benefits that learning languages can bring.
"SNP incompetence can no longer be allowed to stymie the potential of our young people."
Scottish Government response
A Scottish Government spokeswoman said: "The Scottish Government has invested over £50 million since 2013 in the 1+2 languages learning policy, which sees every child learn additional languages starting in the first year of primary school.
"This cultural shift means that young people have awareness of foreign languages, culture and global issues from an earlier age than was the case in the past.
"When comparing to other parts of the UK, the proportion of French, German and Spanish entries to Highers was greater than the equivalent entries to A-levels and the pass rate among Scotland's students in languages is higher than for most other subjects.
"The recruitment of teachers is a matter for local authorities. As part of the Scottish Budget 24-25, the Scottish Government will continue to provide councils with £145.5 million over the coming year to protect teacher numbers and remove barriers to permanent employment of teachers."