Following a scathing inspectors' report into the teaching of subjects such as French, German and Spanish, the Scottish Education Minister, Helen Liddell, has announced a strategy to give a fresh start to modern languages.

Inspectors found that in the first four years of secondary level only 5% of schools are achieving "excellent" results, with a quarter graded as unsatisfactory.

The modern languages curriculum in Scotland is to be reviewed

Scotland's Chief Inspector of Schools, Doug Osler, said the report showed that "the position of modern languages in primary schools is far from secure" and that the "overall picture is not reassuring".

The only level in which languages were found to be successfully taught was in the fifth and sixth years of secondary school, but by which time only a tenth of pupils are still learning languages.

"Today's report is a stark warning that Scotland's ability to compete on the world stage is being damaged by shortcomings in the teaching of modern languages.

"The strategy I am unveiling today aims to tackle the deficiencies identified in the learning of modern languages in our schools," the minister said.

The proposals for change include increasing the numbers of staff able to teach modern languages in primary schools and setting up a Languages Action Group which will re-examine the modern languages curriculum.