Spanish will become the most widely-taught language in this country within a decade, the British Council has said.
The subject is rapidly growing in popularity in British secondary schools and is set to overtake French as the most-studied language by 2025.
This summer, GCSE entries for Spanish rose by 8 per cent to 91,980, while those for French dropped by 1 per cent to 120,605 and German rose by 3 per cent to 43,260.
Do you speak Spanish? The language is set to overtake French as the most studied language by 2025
At A-level, Spanish remained broadly stable, with 7,705 entries. But French and German saw significant decreases, from 8,610 to 7,945 and 3,440 to 2,890 entries respectively.
It is thought Spanish may be on the rise because of the country’s popularity as a holiday destination. Travel website TripAdvisor found that Spanish coastal towns now dominate the most-booked holiday destinations. Spain makes up more than half of the top ten – with places including Gran Canaria, Benidorm, Lanzarote, Ibiza, Tenerife and Majorca.
Youngsters may also perceive it to be more useful than other European languages because it can be used in Latin America.
And some experts have even said the language’s popularity may have been boosted by Latino pop stars – such as Luis Fonsi, whose 2017 song Despacito is the most watched YouTube video ever.
The findings came in the British Council’s Language Trends Survey, which polled teachers in around 1,500 state and independent schools across the country.
One of the reasons for the popularity of Spanish maybe down to a boost given by Latino pop stars
The study said: ‘Uptake of French and German at GCSE and A-level has dramatically fallen over the last two decades while there has been a significant rise for Spanish. These trends have continued this year.
‘The report predicts that based on current trends, Spanish will overtake French as England’s most widely taught modern language at A-level by 2020 and at GCSE by 2025.’
It comes after Andrew Hall, chief executive of the AQA exam board, predicted Spanish would soon become the default language to teach in British schools.
The study by the British Council also revealed a widening gap in pupils’ access to languages, with uptake disproportionately lower at state schools in more disadvantaged areas.
Vicky Gough, schools adviser at the British Council, said: ‘The opportunity to learn a language should be open to everyone, regardless of what kind of school they attend.
‘Learning a foreign language can open doors, not only by helping us understand other cultures but also providing vital skills much sought after by employers.’