Young Scots failing to gain language skills to compete in the global marketplace

New Scottish Qualifications Authority statistics show a significant drop in students studying modern langu ages such as French and Ger - man at National 5 and Higher level over the past year amid a teacher recruitment and retention crisis.

The S NP administration claims that it believes in the importance of studying modern languages to help young people succeed in the global marketplace – and presumably therefore help improve Scotland’s sluggish economic growth.

Regrettably for our children, there’s scant evidence beyond rhetoric of the SNP’S supposed focus on fostering foreign language skills.

But hold on, what about Gaelic? £ 15 million of taxpayer cash is being proudly spent by Nicola Sturgeon’s administration on a Gaelic dictionary.

Do we need to remind her that Gaelic is a ( tiny) minority language, not a modern one? It won’t assist anyone to get a job in the global marketplace, nor will it do much positive for our economy.

MARTIN REDFERN Woodcroft Road, Edinburgh There is a simple explanation for Saturday’s heading in The Scotsman :“Struggling ambulances late for one in three emergencies.”

The Scottish National Party is not giving full attention to this crisis as it seeks to manufacture another crisis – that of the perceived loss of pow- ers that leaving the European Union will have on Holyrood.

So much energy has gone into manufacturing grievancesov er powers the S NP are unlikely to use. It is a case of being asleep at the wheel as the NHS car crashes whilst Ms Sturgeon and friends dream of independence.

The SNP is simply not getting its priorities right to benefit all Scots rather than just its own supporters. ( DR) GERALD EDWARDS

Broom Road, Glasgow To say that the Scottish NHS is in crisis seems to be a general understatement of the facts, with doctors’ appointments now only available after two to three weeks’ wait, hospital waiting lists growing longer as lack of staff forces ward closures and now we have a once fine Scottish ambulance service in operational turmoil.

It has just been revealed that one third of emergency ambulance call-outs missed the target time of eight minutes– largely down to under- fund- in ga nd under-staffing and vehicles not available owing to the growing age of the ambulance fleet.

When is First Minister Nicola Sturgeon going to take control of the situation and start to remedy the vast problems facing NHS Scotland under the watch of Health Minister Shona Robison, who is now clearly not up to the job? DENNIS FORBES GRATTAN

Mugiemoss Road, Bucksburn, Aberdeen