Spanish has overtaken French as the most popular foreign language GCSE, figures suggest.

Provisional data for England shows that exam entries for French GCSE this summer are down by 1.9 per cent, from 130,650 last summer to 128,155 this year.

GCSE entries for German have also fallen by 7.6 per cent over the past year, from 35,110 to 32,430.

But GCSE entries for Spanish have increased by 1.6 per cent from 129,935 in the summer of 2024 to 131,985 this summer, according to the latest Ofqual figures.

Spanish more popular at GCSE

The increase in entries for Spanish could be down to students being more familiar with the language because of the popularity of Spain, the Balearic Islands and Canary Islands as holiday destinations, a school leaders’ union suggested.

At A level, entries for French and German are also down (by 8.3 per cent and 6.8 per cent respectively), but entries for Spanish are up by 1.4 per cent.

The overall number of entries for exams - both GCSEs and A levels - has decreased, according to the data published today.

GCSE provisional entries have fallen by 0.6 per cent from 5,811,595 in summer 2024 to 5,777,020 this summer.

Meanwhile, A-level entries have decreased by 0.4 per cent from 825,355 last summer to 821,875 this summer.

The drop in GCSE entries includes a fall in entries for subjects in the English Baccalaureate (EBacc) measure as well as non-EBacc subjects, exams regulator Ofqual said.

The EBacc is a performance measure that aims to ensure students take English, maths, science, a humanities subject and a language at GCSE.

GCSE entries for computing - an EBacc subject - have decreased by 4.7 per cent on last year, while entries for history are down by 5.9 per cent on last summer.

In March the interim report from the government’s review of curriculum and assessment said it will consider whether the EBacc remains “effective”.

The review suggested that the EBacc may “constrain the choice of students” in school, and it could limit their access to vocational and arts subjects.

Today’s provisional figures also show that GCSE entries for art and design subjects are down by 1.7 per cent on last year, and GCSE entries for drama are down 1.5 per cent.

Pepe Di’Iasio, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, said: “The rising popularity of Spanish as a choice for GCSE probably reflects the fact that many young people may be more familiar with the Spanish language because of the popularity of Spain, the Balearics and Canary Islands as holiday destinations, than they are with French and German.

“That then tends to be reinforced by what friends and siblings are studying.

“The growing popularity of Spanish is really good news as there has been a long-term decline in modern foreign languages, but we do need to do more at a national level to boost language learning more generally.”

The top 10 most popular GCSEs based on entries is unchanged from last year, with combined science in first place followed by maths, English language, English literature, history, geography, religious studies, art and design, biology and chemistry.

Outside the top 10, business studies has moved up from 14th place in 2024 to 13th this year, while PE has risen from 17th to 16th.

French has dropped two places from 12th to 14th, with Spanish moving up from 13th to 12th.

Vicky Gough, schools adviser at the British Council, said: “Spanish has grown in importance for the UK, both as a key global business language and through its popularity in tourism.

“It is now the second most widely spoken first language in the world.

“At the same time, we’ve seen a steady, if uneven, decline in the uptake of French and German, with German falling significantly year on year.

“Many pupils perceive Spanish as easier to learn and recognise its global reach and usefulness.

“While the rise of Spanish is encouraging, the decline in French and German is a real concern.

“These languages are spoken in the UK’s two largest non-English-speaking trading partners and continue to be highly valued by employers.”

Teacher recruitment difficulties

Sarah Hannafin, head of policy at the NAHT school leaders’ union, said: “It is hard to know for sure why entries have dropped in certain subjects - there is always some variability year on year.

“But one possibility is that with recruitment challenges really biting in schools, some simply don’t have the teachers they need to offer courses in certain subjects.

“Teacher recruitment targets were missed in computing, chemistry, physics and modern foreign languages in the last couple of years, and these are among the subjects which experienced a fall in entries.

“This underlines the need for the government to address head-on the fundamental causes of the recruitment and retention crisis gripping schools, which ultimately affects students as well as increasingly stretched leaders and teachers.”

You can now get the UK’s most-trusted source of education news in a mobile app. Get Tes magazine on iOS and on Android