What Can Language Departments Do To Attract GCSE Students?

Alicia Blanvillain

At The Magna Carta School, we believe that increasing uptake in MFL at GCSE is not just about curriculum design. It’s about creating a culture where languages are seen as exciting, useful and achievable.

Unfortunately, across the country, fewer students are choosing languages at GCSE – Ofqual’s recent data shows a 0.6% drop in entries between summer 2024 and summer 2025, and the British Council’s Language Trends England 2025 report found that fewer than half of GCSE students in state schools study a language. Figures such as these make our focus on building enthusiasm and confidence in language learning feel more important than ever.

This is our ongoing story to support students’ success in languages.

Building confidence and curiosity from Year 7

Over the past few years, we have developed a multi-layered approach that starts early in Key Stage 3 and builds gradually. In Year 7, all students study both French and Spanish. At the end of the year, they are invited to choose which language they would like to continue with from Year 8 onwards. This gives them a sense of ownership and helps them feel more connected to the language they study.

In addition, the opportunity to explore two languages instead of only one in Year 7 sparks curiosity and supports their development of language understanding. They are experimenting with grammar, vocabulary and sounds, and training to switch between different languages.

Making languages visible and valued

Another mission we have is to raise the profile of MFL across the school. We want students to see the subject as valued and recognised, and this involves celebrating their efforts in languages through school events, extracurricular activities and enrichment offers.

We celebrate the European Day of Languages with whole-school events, organise Francophonie and Spanish-speaking days, bring Spanish plays into school and take students to the French Institute. We plan for film study at the end of the year in Key Stage 3 to increase the level of authentic material students are exposed to.

We also host an MFL breakfast every term where successes are celebrated and progress is recognised. This year, we are continuing to develop our MFL library to help  students  develop their reading skills. Furthermore, we have increased the number of clubs from one MFL club to three, not only focusing on languages but also exploring different cultures. Our objective is to continue adding to this list every year to make our subject more visible and familiar to students across a whole-school perspective.

Celebrating the languages of our school community

French and Spanish are not the only important languages. We actively encourage students to take GCSEs in their heritage languages and celebrate the wide range of languages spoken in our school community. This helps foster pride and reinforces the idea that all languages are valuable.

Additionally, students who choose to sit a GCSE in their own language are often likely to pick a language offered by the school in order to gain a greater understanding of what an MFL exam involves and to learn exam skills in the subject. Last year, we celebrated Polish, Portuguese, Russian and Turkish GCSEs that our students passed brilliantly. The majority of these students were – or are – studying either French or Spanish and therefore had the opportunity to gain qualifications in two languages.

Inspiring confidence through real-world learning

Our ongoing goal is to help students feel more confident using another language. We do this by exposing them to authentic resources and showing them how language skills can benefit their future, whether in travel, careers or simply connecting with others.

Our teachers play a huge part in this. At The Magna Carta School, we are very fortunate to have a specialist staff team, all of whom speak between three and six languages. Many have lived or studied abroad and bring those real-life experiences into their lessons, helping students understand and see first-hand how languages are used beyond the classroom. Their passion, insight and enthusiasm create a classroom environment that feels authentic and inspiring.

Motivation is often linked to how real the subject feels and how students can use it in their everyday life. This focus feels especially important at a time when, according to the 2025 Pearson School Report, 70% of language teachers say student disengagement will be a barrier to learning. Teaching students how the skills they are learning in languages can be transferable to their everyday life is an integral part of what we do at The Magna Carta School.

What is next for us?

This is a journey, and we are evolving every year to increase GCSE uptake. However, it is important to remember that GCSE uptake should not be the main reason for all this: students’ motivation, engagement and enjoyment of the subject must always come first.

In the coming years, we are planning to increase the variety of clubs and events highlighting languages. Hosting performances in different languages is something we want to continue investing in, as well as taking students to authentic places such as the French Institute or the Instituto Cervantes or dedicated student-focused language events like Pearson’s More than Words: Celebration of Languages. One project we will also be working towards over the next few years is trying to establish penfriend exchanges for Key Stage 3 students. Once again, this is about putting their skills into real contexts and seeing the differences between learning a language in England and students learning English abroad.

We are exploring ways to connect with schools abroad to create meaningful international partnerships. These could include virtual exchanges, collaborative projects or shared cultural experiences, helping students see language learning as a gateway to global citizenship. These opportunities would allow students to apply their skills in real-world contexts and build confidence through authentic communication.

Nevertheless, despite all the initiatives we are putting in place, the greatest difference we can make lies in the classroom – through high-quality teaching that inspires confidence and curiosity in languages every single day.

For free downloadable resources on languages in life, and for further information on Pearson’s More than words campaign and their new language GCSEs, please visit: go.pearson.com/MFLGCSE24