Uploaded July 2025 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago

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Why do students in affluent schools have better access to language learning?

Our latest Language Trends England report, based on responses from over 1,000 schools across England, shows that fewer than half of GCSE state school students study a modern foreign language. But in the most affluent schools, that number rises to 69%.

Watch our Schools Adviser, Vicky Gough, explain what it means and why it matters.

Read the full report: britishcouncil.org/research-insight/language-trends-england-2025