Responding to the British Council's Language Trends England 2025 report, which found that take-up of language GCSEs was significantly lower in less affluent state schools, Paul Whiteman, general secretary at school leaders’ union NAHT, said:

“There are huge benefits for children learning a foreign language and there is some excellent language teaching in both primary and secondary schools.

“However, as this report shows, some schools are struggling to recruit the language teachers they need to offer courses at GCSE and beyond, with recruitment targets for modern foreign languages missed in the last couple of years. This needs addressing urgently if more pupils are to learn a language.

“The shortage of language teachers is part of a much wider recruitment and retention crisis gripping schools, which requires action to restore the real-terms value of pay, reduce intolerable workload, further improve support for flexible working and reform damaging high-stakes Ofsted inspections.”