Spanish learning on the rise in UK schools

Spanish is on its way to becoming the most popular foreign language in UK schools

In what has been dubbed ‘the Messi effect’, UK school examiners have noted the rise in popularity of Spanish at the expense of French and German, with many experts expecting it to soon become the most popular foreign language in schools across Britain…

The number of UK pupils who sat the Spanish GCSE this summer rose to 93,000 – a record high and 2,000 up on last year. Compared to a decade ago, there are now 50 per cent more pupils taking the Spanish GCSE today, and many onlookers believe it is the popularity of Spain’s leading football clubs such as Barcelona and Real Madrid that is helping to lead that transition.

Although French is still the most commonly taught foreign language in UK schools, Spanish is quickly playing catch up, helped not only by football but also a perception that it is easier to learn and likely to prove more useful. The fact that British families prefer Spain to any other holiday destination also plays a significant part when deciding which language to choose.

“Young people are more exposed now to Spanish culture, from music, to food, to high profile Spanish-speaking personalities such as footballer Lionel Messi,” said Lesley Davies, the Vice President of Pearson, a company that owns the UK’s Edexcel exam board.

“It is no surprise that it’s become the second modern foreign language of choice in the classroom.”

The Chief Executive of the AQA exam board, Andrew Hall, remarked that “it was only a matter of time” until Spanish becomes the most popular language taught in the UK.

However, the overall trend for foreign language learning in the UK is declining. This year saw a marked drop in the number of pupils sitting any foreign language GCSE – a trend that has been falling since the Labour government made foreign language learning optional at GCSE level in 2004.

In the past 12 months, Spanish is the only language to have registered an increase in numbers. The number of pupils sitting the French GCSE has fallen by three per cent in the past year, while German is down from 62,932 in 2013 to below 60,000 this year.

“Spanish is one of the most widely spoken languages in the world,” added Hall. “I went to factories in California where people had to have Spanish as a fluent second language. I think more and more people are speaking Spanish. And I think students recognise that it is a very important language to have.”