Cabinet Secretary for Education, Culture and Gaelic Màiri McAllan
said:
These figures show encouraging growth in Gaelic learning within
our secondary schools. The ambition should always be that
opportunities available to young people in English are available
in Gaelic and I am pleased to see we are making good progress on
that.
Recognising Gaelic's unique and important place within Scotland's
schools, Education Scotland is prioritising consideration of
Gaelic as part of the Curriculum Improvement Cycle, to ensure
that it is treated equally to English. In addition, online
support for Gaelic at primary and secondary stages is provided by
e-Sgoil with classes during school time and Gaelic enrichment
activities.
The Scottish Government invests around £35 million annually in
Gaelic and Scots to secure their future in a modern, diverse
Scotland. We passed the Scottish Languages Act to provide a
strategic approach to Gaelic education. The powers to set
standards for Gaelic education and a duty for education
authorities to prepare delivery plans outlining their Gaelic
Medium Education provision help tackle challenges in delivering
Gaelic within secondary schools.
Background
Gaelic Medium Education in
Secondary Schools 2025-26 - gov.scot
The Scottish Government and Bòrd na Gàidhlig continue to promote
and support a range of flexible routes into Gaelic teaching.
Qualifications Scotland figures show a growing number of entries
into Gàidhlig in recent years with around 480 entries to Gàidhlig
qualifications in 2025 compared to around 370 in 2022.
