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Right growstuff, and the majority of children choose to not study languages after age fourteen. They drop languages as soon as they can. Why? Because they’re difficult, easier subjects are on offer.

They have to repay the loan wherever they are Davidhs. My daughter went off to South America for six months and failed to declare that she was leaving the country temporarily. The Students Loan Company hounded me on a regular basis because I was her parent.

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French was taught in primary school in Scotland from p3 thats 7 years old .I started school in 1959 .Two languages in secondary school and a third at 4th year level IF you added it to your choices .Its still the same here in our schools my G C all started french at primary and the two oldest are doing two languages at High school

maddyone Yes, other subjects are perceived as easier. A report last year confirmed that they are and results are apparently going to be adjusted this year - we'll see. Schools are also responsible, especially those with low ability intakes, because they have pressure put on them to produce good results in maths, English and science. They don't want their average results pulled down by poor language results.

Apologies for the multiple post maybe it can be deleted ?

GNHQ?

Historically, Scotland has had a good reputation for teaching foreign languages.

I watched Jeremy Vine's show this morning and one panelist in particular and the callers accept PP's figure of 8 million unemployed.

growstuff: ^ "Schools are also responsible, especially those with low ability intakes, because they have pressure put on them to produce good results in maths, English and science. They don't want their average results pulled down by poor language results.^"

This is true. The head of the school I worked in decided to remove German because it dragged down the school's results. It's about what looks good in the league tables - not our children's education.

It was only when one of my kids got a GCSE in French that I realised I knew more French than him, I say that because I didn't like it at school. There seems to be a consensus "it's the way we were taught". After my father's death one of my French cousins sent me some correspondence my father had with their parents and told me "you know your father spoke perfect French", I knew he spoke some, and I felt quite annoyed that he didn't help me, particularly as he thought everyone should try and speak another language other than their own. Anyway I've gone back to it now and there are times when I've mentally stuck two fingers up to him whilst I'm in the throes of learning

My husband went to grammar school and did Latin as well as French, he was very good at the former, I remember being of the opinion that learning a dead language was a waste of time, but he's definitely persuaded me otherwise, Latin is a help with all the Romantic languages, he's doing Spanish and is always commenting on such and such a word, derived from Latin.

Terribull, my husband studied Latin and French at university, and he’s the same as your husband, always telling me the route of this word or that word. Sometimes he’ll tell me the Latin word, and then the same word in French and in German, in Spanish and even modern Italian. He only studied German to O Level, but picks up languages easily, just from visiting other countries, because of the Latin route, and the Latin and French at university.

We seem to be in a period of crazy politics, where some Ministers seem to be trying to make a name for themselves.

Priti Patel comments and proposals at first sight seem rather naive. I have yet to meet any friend or colleague who agree 100% with her proposals. The majority believe her proposals are not practical without damaging the likes of our Care services.

Yes they're right maddy, having rolled my eyes at the mention of Latin all I can say is mea culpa for dissing it as a defunct language. On the contrary it is alive in the derivation of so many words, wow they gave the world a lot those Romans I'm really glad I remember a modicum, from the Latin masses of my childhood, although my childhood ears regarded such weekly suffering as an hour long interminable bore of non understandable ramblings, sadly Latin masses have been consigned to history

Apologies for wandering off the OP