Latest News

1 July 2026 (HEPI)

The Higher Education Policy Institute has compiled a new league table of schools based on official Department for Education performance data on the state of Modern Language provision across England.

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1 July 2026 (Primary Language Network)

As England take to the pitch, there's another skill many of the squad have in common that often goes unnoticed - they speak more than one language.

From Spanish and German to Dutch and French, several England internationals have embraced learning new languages throughout their careers. Whether it's settling into a new country, communicating with teammates or immersing themselves in a different culture, their language skills show that learning a language can open doors far beyond the classroom.

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30 June 2026 (Time)

Today, AI can impressively help anyone to write and read in almost any language. This allows a surface-level exchange of ideas, but comes at a steep price: the loss of honest engagement with the magic organ that makes us human. The challenges of learning a new language are exactly why it is still so important to do so in the AI era.

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27 June 2026 (Greenock Telegraph / Yahoo News)

Pupils from across Inverclyde came together at Moorfoot Primary to celebrate sign language.

Youngsters from the Garvel Deaf Centre, based in Moorfoot, were joined by primary seven pupils from Gourock and Ardgowan Primary, as well as learners from Clydeview Academy, to mark their success in promoting British Sign Language (BSL) this year.

The pupils from Gourock and Ardgowan have been learning sign language from BSL tutor Paul Tipling as they prepare to make the jump from primary school to high school, while pupils from Moorfoot learn it from nursery right through to Primary 7.

Their teachers hope the skills they have picked up will enable them to communicate with their peers from Clydeview Academy's Deaf Education Centre when they move there after summer.

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23 June 2026 (University of Aberdeen)

More than 100 teachers, education professionals and language-sector stakeholders from across the north-east and Scotland gathered at the University of Aberdeen this week for French Forward, the third national Future of French en Écosse conference.

Hosted by the University’s School of Language, Literature, Music and Visual Culture, the event was co-organised with SCILT, Scotland’s National Centre for Languages, and supported by the Institut français d’Ecosse. It created a forum for those working across schools, universities, policy and cultural organisations to share ideas and build a positive future for French teaching and learning in Scotland.

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22 June 2026 (TES)

The declining fortunes of languages in schools have been causing concern for decades - as far back as 2007, the Dearing review was addressing the sharp fall in numbers after languages were made optional at key stage 4.

Analysis of 2026 national entries data, however, reveals a trend that goes against that prevailing narrative: the rise of “other modern languages”, which Tes has been told is a source of “huge, untapped potential” in schools.

What exactly this category comprises can change from year to year, but Ofqual has provided Tes with the languages included in the 2026 data: Arabic, Bengali, Chinese, Greek, Gujarati, Italian, Japanese, Modern Hebrew, Panjabi, Persian, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Turkish and Urdu.

It has already been well documented that the rise of Spanish has counteracted the decline of the two traditional mainstays of languages teaching in the UK, French and German.

Less well known, however, is the rise, since the Covid pandemic, of other modern languages - and this often refers to the language a pupil speaks at home.

(Note - subscription required to access full article)

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19 June 2026 (Rail UK)

Dozens of staff at train operator TransPennine Express (TPE) are learning sign language to help make rail journeys easier for hearing-impaired customers.

So far, more than 70 colleagues, including conductors and customer-facing teams, have completed a course in basic British Sign Language (BSL).

The sessions include teaching everyday phrases such as greetings, numbers and common customer service interactions, as well as terms regularly used on the railway covering tickets, platforms, and delays.

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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.

26 March 2026 (GCHQ)

The GCHQ Virtual Language Outreach sessions are aimed at Year 8/9s (S2/S3).

In these one-hour long sessions your pupils will hear about the importance of languages, GCHQ and the work our Language Analysts do. After that they will do a scenario challenge in a language they are currently studying, so please ensure you choose the correct language on offer. We will end with a Q&A session.

Visit the website for available dates and to register.

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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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