There are no foreign language assistants working in Scottish state schools this academic year, Tes Scotland can reveal.
While a small number of modern language assistants (MLAs) remain working in Scottish schools, all are operating in the independent sector.
Once a mainstay of many schools’ language-teaching offerings, MLAs appear to have been sacrificed en masse in the midst of councils’ budget crises and a decline in interest in languages in Scottish schools.
Data obtained from the British Council Scotland, which arranges for MLAs to work in schools, shows that in 2023-24, the total number employed in Scotland is 33. None is in a state school.
This was also the case in 2022-23. The last time any MLAs were hosted by local authorities was in 2021-22, when 10 were employed to work in state schools.
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