News and Research

Vicky Gough, British Council Schools Adviser, said:  “Congratulations to all students receiving their GCSE results today! Spanish has now become the most popular GCSE language, overtaking French for the first time. “However, the decrease in language uptake for French and other modern languages follows a worrying trend. “With the removal of the Ebacc and languages … Continued

On 22 June 2026, NCLE brought together language teachers, from both primary and secondary schools around the country, and researchers from UCL Institute of Education for an NCLE Partnership Development and Co-creation Event to support schools to develop their proposals for National Priority Projects (NPPs) under the theme of Amplifying Intercultural Learning.   The day combined research-informed inputs, practical case … Continued

Imagine you have done your GCSEs and would like to continue with your German studies to A Level. However, only one other student wishes to do so alongside you. Your school decides that, regrettably, it makes no financial sense to timetable an A Level German class for such a small group, and decides to close … Continued

Press release, issued 13 August 2026 Vicky Gough, British Council Schools Adviser, said: “Congratulations to all students receiving their A-level language results today. It is fantastic to see an increase across all languages offered at A-Level this year, especially German which has seen a decrease in uptake over the last few years. “These results clearly show … Continued

NCLE wishes to send many congratulations and warmest thanks to Andrea Pfeil, Head of the Language Department and Deputy Director at the Goethe-Institut London, who is moving on from her post in London this week to take up her new role in South Africa. The Goethe-Institut is one of three NCLE Consortium partners and Andrea has played an essential role within the project from its inception. It remains crucial to place … Continued

The National Consortium for Languages Education (NCLE) is proud to announce continued support from the DfE to expand our reach across the regions. During 2026 – 2027, NCLE will be strengthening system leadership for languages through our established and highly effective Strategic Learning Networks (SLNs). Building on the successful outcomes from our National Priority Projects (NPPs), … Continued

It’s Portsmouth Language Week this week, part of the innovative Portsmouth City of Languages initiative, co-led by NCLE’s Solent Language Network. Read on to find out more about the Cities of Languages initiative, how NCLE is supporting them, and ways you can get involved in this type of high-impact collaboration. Portsmouth: A city of languages … Continued

NCLE Director and Honorary Professor Bernardette Holmes MBE joined NCLE Consortium Partners Vicky Gough from the British Council, and Andrea Pfeil from the Goethe-Institut, to open ALL’s Language World conference with a rallying call to all languages teachers and their Headteachers. Languages, intercultural understanding, and communication between peoples, have never been more important than they … Continued

We are inviting schools to take part in our National Priority Projects, focused on two key themes in language education:  These structured projects will be led and supported by the NCLE, with a small amount of funding available for participating schools.  Schools will have the opportunity to discover, test and co-construct innovative teaching approaches, developing … Continued

A set of free resources developed by Sheffield City of Languages co-founder Prof Sabine Little in partnership with Twinkl is available now for anyone to access. NCLE’s Home, Heritage and Community Languages (HHCL) Officer Clare Allison tells us more about this wonderful set of resources and how it dovetails with NCLE’s approach to supporting HHCL across the country.  Wonderful resources to celebrate all languages … Continued