Tuesday 05 August 2025
  • Spanish retains its position as Scotland's most popular modern language at national qualification level, with entries up 4.1% to 10.3K, rising from 9.9K in 2024.
  • National 5 entries for Spanish now sit at 6,780 versus French at 6,485
  • French continues gradual decline, down 1.1% to 9.1K entries, marking the third consecutive year of decline across the senior phase combined.
  • German entries have declined slightly to 2,030 entries after previously rising to 2,165 in 2024
  • Italian stabilises at 570 entries following a 46% growth in entries in 2024.

Harish Lokhun, Head of Education, British Council Scotland, said:

"On behalf of British Council Scotland, I'd like to offer our huge congratulations to all pupils collecting their results today. Today's results are a culmination of years of hard work and commitment by these pupils, their schools and their wider communities.

“While we celebrate that total entries for French, Spanish, German, and Italian have reached 22,165 pupils, we're mindful that National 5 entries have declined from 14,985 to 14,885 this year. This entry-level participation is vital for building the pipeline of future linguists that Scotland needs.

"Today's provisional results confirm trends outlined in our inaugural Language Trends Scotland report . As we predicted, Spanish has now established itself as Scotland's most popular modern language for the senior phase with over 10,000 entries across senior levels combined. However, German uptake at National 5 has seen a reversal after a previous rise between 2023-2024, and French entries continue to decline. With both countries remaining key international trade partners for Scotland, the drop in language learning raises concerns about our future ability to build strong, meaningful ties with these vital nations.

"The benefits of mastering a modern language are significant and far-reaching. Beyond supporting employability, language skills play a vital role in fostering international partnerships, diplomacy, and security. Learning a language can help build bridges and enhance global perspectives, enriching both personal and professional lives.

"To all the pupils receiving their results today, we wish you the very best as you embark on the next phase of your international journey. Your commitment to language learning positions you perfectly for a world where cross-cultural communication and international understanding are more important than ever."

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Notes to Editor

About Language Trends Scotland

This year we launched our inaugural Language Trends report for Scotland, working with stakeholders to provide an objective overview of modern language teaching and learning across the country. Building on the British Council's extensive research in this field for other parts of the UK, the report serves as a springboard for discussions among educators, policymakers, pupils, and the public about the future of language education in Scotland.

About the British Council

The British Council is the UK’s international organisation for cultural relations and educational opportunities. We support peace and prosperity by building connections, understanding and trust between people in the UK and countries worldwide. We do this through our work in arts and culture, education and the English language.  We work with people in over 200 countries and territories and are on the ground in more than 100 countries. In 2022-23 we reached 600 million people.