An entitlement, not a curriculum requirement
Language learning in Scotland’s schools follows a different model from the one in England, which our separate guide to the English national curriculum covers. Since 2013 the Scottish Government’s policy has been the 1+2 approach: the aim is that every child learns two additional languages beyond the language used for teaching. This article uses the Scottish Government’s policy page and its published findings from the 2024-25 survey of local authorities, released in June 2026. It covers Scotland only. Schools and local authorities decide which languages are taught within the framework.
What the policy promises
The Scottish Government describes a first additional language, called L2, which should be taught continuously from Primary 1 to the end of Secondary 3. The L2 must be a language that can be taught to National Qualification level, which the government lists as Cantonese, French, Gaelic (Learners), German, Italian, Mandarin, Spanish and Urdu. A second additional language, L3, should start no later than Primary 5 and continue to the end of Primary 7, and again at some point in the secondary years up to Secondary 3. An L3 can be any language, including British Sign Language, Latin, Scots and community languages, and pupils may sample several languages rather than studying one continuously.
The government says that between 2013 and 2023 it provided £36.8 million to local authorities to implement the approach, mostly for teacher professional learning, particularly in primary schools where the class teacher leads language learning.
What the 2024-25 survey found in primary schools
The survey collected returns from 31 of Scotland’s 32 local authorities, covering 1,657 mainstream primary, 320 mainstream secondary and 73 special schools, which the report says is about 84 per cent of primaries, 89 per cent of secondaries and 73 per cent of special schools. Responses are reported by local authorities on behalf of their schools.
In primary schools, approximately 99 per cent provided either a full or partial L2 entitlement, and 81 per cent provided the full entitlement from Primary 1 to Primary 7, up from 68 per cent in 2022-23 and 69 per cent in 2020-21. French remained the most taught L2 at about 82 per cent of primary schools, followed by Spanish at 15 per cent, Gaelic (Learners) at 5 per cent and German at 3 per cent. Italian, Mandarin and Cantonese were each offered by under 1 per cent, and Urdu did not feature as a primary L2.
Secondary schools tell a different story
In secondary schools, about 98 per cent provided either full or partial L2, but only 53 per cent provided the full entitlement from Secondary 1 to Secondary 3. That is down from 61 per cent in 2022-23 and 70 per cent in 2020-21, and 3 per cent of secondaries reported providing no L2. French was taught in about 83 per cent of secondaries, Spanish in 46 per cent, German in 16 per cent and Gaelic (Learners) in 8 per cent. Spanish grew from 23 per cent in 2020-21 to 36 per cent in 2022-23 and 46 per cent in 2024-25.
The report’s conclusion highlights the contrast, saying the survey exposed a clear distinction between primary and secondary approaches, with full implementation rising in primary and falling in secondary.
Third languages, BSL and inclusion
The survey found that L3 provision decreased in both sectors, although percentages remained high: 72 per cent of primaries and 83 per cent of secondaries. Spanish was the most taught L3, though its share slipped slightly. British Sign Language and Scots continued to gain popularity as primary L3s, behind Spanish but ahead of French for the first time, and Mandarin also grew. Special schools, of which about 84 per cent provided language learning opportunities, reported teaching systems such as PECS, Makaton, Signalong and BSL. Schools cited pupil needs and community relevance in choosing languages such as BSL, Makaton, Arabic and Ukrainian.
Challenges the schools reported
Schools reported challenges including teacher confidence, training, staff shortages and high turnover, along with specific difficulties for multi-composite classes and Gaelic Medium Education settings. They also asked for clearer progression pathways and support for embedding the L2 across all years. The government describes the overall picture as positive compared with the period before 1+2, when language learning did not typically begin before Primary 5, and it says it has committed to review the provision of modern languages in schools.
How to read the numbers
The survey is not a measure of what every child experiences. It reports school-level provision by local authorities, and the authors explain that the questions have evolved, so there is no statistical baseline from the policy’s start. They recalculated earlier figures on a consistent basis and warn that these may differ slightly from previously published values, urging caution when comparing years. Not every school answered. “Partial” entitlement means the L2 was not taught continuously across the stage, which is not the same as no teaching at all.
For families, the practical lesson is that what a child receives depends on the school and the local authority. If languages matter to you, ask a prospective school which L2 it teaches, from which year, and whether it is continuous through Secondary 3. For adult learners, the same data show which languages Scottish schools currently prioritise, which tends to shape local evening-class and exam-centre demand, although that link is an inference rather than something the survey measures.
The bottom line
Scotland’s 1+2 policy entitles pupils to learn an L2 from Primary 1 to Secondary 3 and a further L3 from Primary 5, and the 2024-25 survey shows near-universal L2 provision but only 81 per cent of primaries and 53 per cent of secondaries delivering the full entitlement. French dominates, Spanish is growing, and BSL and Scots are rising as third languages. The figures are school-reported and cautious, so check the detail for your own school.
Sources
- Scottish Government, “1+2 languages policy: Findings from the 2024-25 survey of local authorities”
- Scottish Government, “1+2 languages policy: 2024-25 survey, Methodology”
- Scottish Government, “1+2 languages policy: 2024-25 survey, Language learning in primary schools”
- Scottish Government, “1+2 languages policy: 2024-25 survey, Language learning in secondary schools”
- Scottish Government, “Language learning in schools (policy page)”