Latest News

6 August 2026 (Alliance Française / Institut français / Goethe-Institut)

Enrolment is now open for autumn-term courses in French and German offered by the cultural organisations in Edinburgh and Glasgow. Follow the relevant link below to find out more:

• French (Institut français d'Écosse, Edinburgh)
• French (Alliance Française, Glasgow)
• German (Goethe-Institut, Glasgow)

6 August 2026 (RFI)

‘News from 12 bis’, produced by Radio France Internationale in partnership with France Éducation International, is a radio series based on the bilingual drama. The bilingual sketches, which can be listened to in an immersive audio environment, provide an introduction to French through everyday communication situations. The series is available on the ‘Le français facile avec RFI’ website as well as on podcast platforms, in a French version and in eight bilingual versions (French–English, French–Arabic, French–Chinese, French–Spanish, French–Brazilian Portuguese, French–Romanian, French–Russian and French–Ukrainian).

The learning programme

Developed in partnership with France Éducation International, ‘Des nouvelles du 12 bis’ offers a comprehensive and engaging online French learning programme. By listening to the adventures of Billie, Rosa and their neighbours, the listener/learner follows a series of comprehension and practice exercises specifically designed to help them settle into life in France.

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4 August 2026 (BBC)

Three in 10 Higher students got an A

[..] The highest number of students getting an A at Higher include Cantonese (100%), Simplified Mandarin (86.9%), Italian (69.9%) and Childcare and Development (62.1%).

Four in 10 Nat 5 pupils got an A

[,,] all 15 students who took Cantonese got an A. Simplified Mandarin (74.5%) and Spanish (58.8%) had A passes well above the average.

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4 August 2026 (The Guardian)

Soon after my first visit to Ukraine four years ago, I began language lessons. It taught me more than I ever expected

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30 July 2026 (The Herald)

An accessibility project is set to launch at the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, bringing a new British Sign Language (BSL) experience to deaf visitors.

When the Garden’s historic Palm Houses reopen following restoration later this year, visitors will be able to access a series of short BSL videos explaining botanical terms through engaging stories about plant life.

The films are believed to be the first of their kind at any botanic garden in the UK.

Developed in partnership with the Scottish Sensory Centre’s BSL team at the University of Edinburgh, the project aims to tackle the lack of botanical vocabulary in British Sign Language.

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24 July 2026 (Times Higher Education)

Modern languages classrooms are often multilingual spaces. These are familiar to me as a Spanish language teacher at a UK institution; not all my students are native English speakers. However, I view this as a strength; my classrooms are rich environments where linguistic and cultural identities are valued and celebrated. This approach can not only maximise learning but build sought-after skills that set students apart in a volatile job market.

Through their engagement with different perspectives, students learn to negotiate meaning and approach problems creatively and, in the process, improve their adaptability, time management, leadership and communication skills, and cultural awareness.

Although teaching multilingual groups is not without its challenges, a handful of strategies that draw on the benefits of linguistic diversity can make a difference.

Related articles:

How to navigate multilingualism in global online classrooms (THE, 6 August 2026)

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21 July 2026 (Qualifications Scotland)

There have been several updates to the Advanced Higher Modern Languages webpage on the Qualifications Scotland website. These include the publication of Modern Language Coursework Templates and the removal of Understanding Standards materials - see the Changes to Understanding Standards materials section of the subject page for details of files removed.

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18 July 2026 (The Scotsman)

A landmark research project has revealed the employment benefits of immersive Gaelic education.

For the first time, the post-school career advantages of learners who study in Gaelic Medium Education (GME) schools has been studied.

However, experts say the job opportunities offered by GME must be better supported and signposted in schools to help pupils into the labour market.

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6 July 2026 (The Guardian)

Learning another language could slow ageing in the brain by up to 13 years, according to research.

People who speak more than one language seem to have younger brains and the more languages you speak and the earlier you speak them, the better, according to findings from a study being presented at the Federation of European Neuroscience Societies conference in Barcelona.

The study found that those who spoke two languages had brains that appeared around six years younger than those who spoke only one language. People who spoke three languages had brains that appeared around seven years younger, and for those who spoke four languages, their brains appeared about 13 years younger.

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5 July 2026 (The Guardian)

Cutting language courses at universities and schools risks undermining social mobility and vocational skills, former education secretaries and experts in the UK have warned.

More than 70 languages academics were among 500 staff at the University of Exeter to be told last week they were at risk of redundancy as it seeks to cut 150 full-time posts, predominantly in the humanities. The announcement followed the proposal by the University of Nottingham to become the first Russell Group university to offer no language degrees.

The cuts come against a backdrop of increasingly difficult university finances and years of falling GCSE and A-level entries, which have exacerbated inequalities. Languages are now compulsory for all pupils at GCSE in only 22% of state secondaries, compared with 41% of independent schools, according to this year’s Language Trends survey.

Related articles:

Cutting language courses will be a costly mistake (The Guardian letters, 7 July 2026)

Britain risks losing language skills to understand its enemies (The Times, 22 July 2026) - subscription may be required to access full article

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26 June 2026 (SAHA)

On Friday, 26 June, the Scottish Arts and Humanities Alliance (SAHA) unveiled its latest report, Languages in a Global Scotland. It was produced by SAHA’s Languages Working Group, chaired by Professor Catherine O’Leary, and draws on expertise from across the Scottish higher education sector. The report argues that languages and intercultural studies are key to the creation of a Global Scotland for the benefit of all.

The document has three main aims:

• to provide an overview of the current position of languages education in Scotland
• to outline the challenges and opportunities of language education for an increasingly multilingual Scotland in a globally interconnected world
• to make recommendations for language and cultural education to help Scotland achieve its full potential

Visit the SAHA website to access the full report.

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19 June 2026 (SCILT)

Today SCILT launches its menu of workshops for secondary, primary and mixed-sector groups for 2026-27. The workshop menu offers opportunities to develop knowledge and skills related to aspects of ethos, curriculum and pedagogy. There is the option to build your own workshop and to pick 'n' mix content to meet the needs of your group. We welcome requests from colleagues with whole school, cluster, network or local authority responsibility for sourcing professional learning for primary, secondary and mixed sector groups.

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18 June 2026 (French Film Festival)

The French Film Festival UK Learning Programme 2026 is out now and available for booking immediately.

Download the attached programme, with full details of all the films and a link to the booking form. All information and links are also available at the French Film Festival Learning Programme webpage.

For practitioners whose access to the films has been blocked by IT security systems in the past, we are working with Education Scotland to enable all schools in Scotland to participate this autumn; so please still book if you would like to participate, even though blocked in the past.

Last year over 33,000 primary and secondary pupils took part, with teachers noting, “A significant positive impact on student engagement with language learning” after participating in the programme.

In the meantime, if you have any questions please contact schools@frenchfilmfestival.org.uk

We will also be present at The future of French en Écosse on 22 June 2026 at the University of Aberdeen and hope to see you there!

11 June 2026 (Provided by Argyll & Bute/Highland/Aberdeen City)

Commencing August 2026, and open to all Scottish schools, these courses provide on the job professional learning and help teachers make time for languages in the curriculum. Teachers learn alongside their pupils in real time and are supported to lead the learning in their own class.

Suitable for P4-7 classes. The lesson structure alternates between short bursts of direct teaching from the online teacher, followed by the class teachers leading their own class in a team game. This format allows the learning to remain active and fully engage the learners. Each lesson lasts approximately 40 minutes and will take place in a GLOW Microsoft Team. All resources will be available to download in advance of the session and will be stored in the GLOW Team.

See the flyer for more information and to sign up.

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9 June 2026 (Institut français)

The best of French creativity is coming to the Fringe! Vive le Fringe! will be back from 7 to 29 August 2026 at the Institut français d’Écosse with an electrifying line-up of artists and companies:

• Don't Wait For Me, an award-winning bilingual puppetry show about loss, hope and belonging.
• Bigger, challenging body perception through dance.
• °Up : Violin vs Football, bringing to the stage a freestyle football champion and a violin player.

Visit the Institut français website for more information and bookings.

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4 June 2026 (Civil Service Languages Network)

British Council, GCHQ and the Civil Service Languages Network are working together to promote language learning among pupils in UK schools.

Your S2/S3 (Y8/9) pupils, who may be considering their options, and S4/S5 (Y10/11) students, prior to choosing their Higher/AHs, are invited to our open, online events – see dates below. There, they will hear from speakers with different roles across government who have used languages in their career, and how either studying a language in school, or speaking a heritage language, has enriched their life and career.

Pupils will have the chance to ask the speakers questions (via their teacher) through a Q&A session.

You can see some example videos here:

• Rosemary Pennells (British Embassy Tokyo) S2/S3 (Y8/9)
• Nerys Jones (British Embassy Berlin) S4/S5 (Y10/11) Government Languages Outreach talk

The online events are free of charge, and if you are unable to attend the events there are recordings which you can use instead.

To express interest, and help us keep in touch, please complete the form.

We look forward to welcoming your pupils to our events!

Summer term 2026

S2/S3 (Y8/9): Monday 29 June 2026, 09:00-10:00

S4/S5 (Y10/11): Wednesday 1 July 2026, 09:00-10:00

Autumn term 2026

S2/S3/S4/S5 joint event: Friday 25 September 2026 (for European Day of Languages on 26 Sept), 09:00-10:00

S4/S5 (Y10/11): Wednesday 11 November 2026, 09:15-10:15

S2/S3 (Y8/9): Thursday 19 November 2026, 09:00-10:00

Spring term 2027

S2/S3 (Y8/9): Wednesday 13 January 2027, 09:00-10:00

S4/S5 (Y10/11): Tuesday 19 January 2027, 09:00-10:00

S2/S3 (Y8/9): Thursday 11 February 2027, 09:15-10:15

Summer term 2027

S2/S3 (Y8/9): Monday 28 June 2027, 09:00-10:00

S4/5 (Y10/11): Thursday 1 July 2027, 09:00-10:00

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23 April 2026 (Institut français)

Created by the Council of Europe, the European Day of Languages (EDL) has been celebrated every year on 26 September since 2001, in partnership with the European Commission.

The 2026 edition of the European Day of Languages in Scotland will be held at the Institut français d'Écosse in Edinburgh, with the following events taking place:

A professional conference (Tuesday, 22 September 2026 @5pm)

An update on the Curriculum Improvement Cycle (CIC), a systematic review led by Education Scotland to evolve the national curriculum. More information and registration.

Event for pupils in S2 and S3 (Thursday 24 and Friday 25 September 2026)

Interactive Activities: Dynamic "language corners" featuring up to 8 different countries, including Czech, Italian, French, German, Irish, Polish, Romanian, and Spanish.

Contact for more information Charlotte HYVERNAUD education.ifecosse@institut-francais.org.uk 

The events take place at the Institut français d'Écosse, West Parliament Square, Edinburgh, EH1 1RN. Entrance on George IV Bridge.

15 August 2025 (SCILT)

SCILT’s 2025-26 menu of professional learning workshops for groups launches today!

Free to book for groups of primary or secondary teachers working in local authority schools. Sessions are designed and facilitated by our friendly and experienced Professional Development Officers.  

Select a workshop from the menu below, or request a bespoke input tailored to your audience – the choice is yours. Choose your workshop theme(s), pick your dates and submit your workshop request. We’ll confirm arrangements with you promptly.  

These workshops offer a chance for groups of colleagues to dive into professional learning that explores engaging language pedagogies and examples of current practice.  

Requests from professional learning leads in schools, clusters, local authorities and SCIS welcomed all year round…starting now! 

Primary 

• Developing a multilingual ethos in your primary school
• First steps in teaching primary languages
• Next steps in teaching primary languages
• Assessment as learning in primary languages
• Getting outdoors with primary languages

Secondary

• Teaching Sprints – Small change, big impact
• Developing a multilingual and multicultural ethos
• BYOW: Build Your Own Workshop!
• The Big Question

For workshop descriptors, and to book one or more session for the group of teachers that you support, find the link the professional learning request form below.

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