Thursday 18 August 2022

 

•  Spanish remains the most popular modern foreign language despite a slight decline in entries. 

•  Entries for French decreased whilst German increased this year. 

•  Entries for other modern foreign languages have not recovered to pre-pandemic levels.

Vicky Gough, British Council Schools Advisor, said: 

“Congratulations to those pupils collecting their A-level languages results today for all their hard work. 

“It’s encouraging that numbers for A-level languages have increased overall this year, but this must be seen in the broader context of a huge decline over the past 20 years.

“Spanish has consolidated its lead over French as the most popular A-level language for a third year in a row. However, it’s disappointing to see a further drop in the number of pupils studying German. 

“As stated in our Language Trends Survey, and as schools continue to recover from the pandemic, it’s essential that schools prioritise language learning and look to build back international opportunities and connections that have been in decline over the last few years. The benefits of having language skills and an understanding of other cultures cannot be overstated, particularly as the UK renegotiates its place on the world stage.”

-ENDS-

Notes to Editor

For more information, please contact Beatrice Cole in the British Council Press Office on beatrice.cole@britishcouncil.org

Read the British Council Language Trends Survey 2022 here: https://www.britishcouncil.org/about/press/british-council-language-learning-schools-2022

About the British Council

The British Council is the UK’s international organisation for cultural relations and educational opportunities. We build connections, understanding and trust between people in the UK and other countries through arts and culture, education and the English language. In 2019-2020 we reached over 75 million people directly and 758 million people overall including online, broadcasts and publications. Founded in 1934 we are a UK charity governed by Royal Charter and a UK public body. We receive a 14.5 per cent core funding grant from the UK government. www.britishcouncil.org