Secondary school pupil are increasingly opting not to study foreign languages after the age of 14, according to a study published on Thursday.

Three quarters of comprehensives no longer require pupils to take a language at GCSE after the government altered the regulations last September.

Of these, 72 per cent report a decline in the numbers studying French and 70 per cent in German.

Meanwhile it has emerged that the government has announced a partial climbdown on plans to allow selection by ability in specialist and grammar schools.