Airdrie & Coatbridge Advertiser
Minister talks the talk on cash for languages
£3m investment announced
St Ambrose High was the venue for a Scottish Government funding announcement to help school pupils learn additional languages.
Employability minister Jamie Hepburn visited the Coatbridge school to meet pupils and find out more about their current crosscurricular projects in Spanish, science and computing.
He was greeted by head girl and boy Iona Clancy and Michael Higgins, and went on to tour the school with senior pupils, staff and head teacher Ellen Douglas.
The MSP was visiting to announce the Scottish Government’s additional £ 3 million to support language learning – with North Lanarkshire receiving £ 212,000 from the national allocation.
It will enable every pupil to start learning an additional language in Primary One and a second additional language by Primary Five, and for language learning to continue to the end of third year at secondary school.
Mandarin, Gaelic and British Sign Language are among the languages included, as well as European languages.
Scottish Government figures show that Higher language passes have increased by more than 11 per cent in the past decade, while attainment of “modern language for life and work” qualifications rose by more than one third in 2015- 2016; but that a lack of language skills was estimated to have cost the Scottish economy half a billion pounds in 2011.
Mr Hepburn said: “Learning languages is becoming more crucial than ever – research shows that employers strongly favour candidates with language skills and we want to ensure young Scots are equipped with the skills they need in the global marketplace.
“Introducing school children to languages at a young age and helping them to foster a long-lasting love of languages is crucially important, and our ‘one plus two’ language policy supports this ambition.”
St Ambrose head teacher Mrs Douglas said: “We’re committed to ensuring that modern languages is given its rightful place in the curriculum.
“I’m delighted to learn that the national commitment to promoting this will continue with the additional funding announced by the minister; young people live in an increasingly global village and marvellous economic, cultural and social opportunities are created where the barrier of language is removed.”