The most popular foreign language GCSE revealed

Spanish has become the most popular foreign language for GCSE students, overtaking French for the first time.

Its rise is partly attributed to Spain’s popularity as a holiday destination and the language’s global standing.

While the increase in Spanish entries is positive, there are concerns about the decline in other foreign languages, notably French and German.

Data from the Joint Council for Qualifications (JCQ), covering England, Wales, and Northern Ireland, shows Spanish entries rose 2.6 per cent this year, from 133,395 in 2024 to 136,871 in 2025.

In contrast, French entries dropped 1.4 per cent to 132,808, down from 134,651 last year. German continued its fall, down 7.0 per cent from 35,913 in 2024 to 33,391 entries.

Vicky Gough, British Council schools adviser, said the growing popularity of Spanish shows “real appetite for language learning”.

She said: “We need the success of Spanish reflected across all languages through exchanges, cultural programmes and real-world connections that demonstrate why languages matter.

“Our research also reveals a significant socioeconomic gap: pupils in the top fifth of the most advantaged state schools in England are around 32 per cent more likely to take a language GCSE than their peers elsewhere, meaning many young people from less privileged backgrounds miss out on opportunities their peers benefit from.

“At a time of increasing global tension, helping young people connect across borders, build friendships and foster trust has never been more important.

“We must ensure access to language learning for all, it remains a powerful gateway to opportunity and a more connected future.”

Jill Duffy, chief executive of the OCR exam board and chairwoman of the JCQ board, said: “Spanish is a massive global language, lots of people around the world speak it and also, as we know, Spain is a popular holiday destination for Brits, so that might have contributed to Spanish overtaking French this year.”

Pepe Di’Iasio, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, said falls in French and German are a “source of concern”.

He said: “The rising popularity of Spanish is great to see, but we cannot escape the fact that over the past 20 years or so there has been a massive decline in language take-up overall.

“It is imperative that we find ways of promoting a love of languages or we will become an increasingly monolingual society with consequent implications for our ability to trade and travel abroad.”

Sir Ian Bauckham, chief of England’s exam regulator, Ofqual, said the numbers taking German are now “really quite small.”

He told PA: “I think it’s important that students continue to have the opportunities for speaking languages and learning languages, not only because of the intrinsic enjoyment that the process of learning a language and being able to speak it can bring, but also because it’s important that young people leave school with the ability to communicate with speakers of other languages in other countries.”