Scottish education authorities are deliberating the addition of Polish to the already taught languages of French and Spanish at schools throughout Scotland.

The move is being debated after a recommendation on the matter was handed to the Scottish parliament at Holyrood which highlights the fact that currently there are around 12,000 children of Polish descent living in Scotland.

Scotland’s The Herald daily reports that “currently Polish is only offered to qualification level through 17 community run Saturday schools while only two schools, both in Edinburgh […] offer afternoon classes in Polish”.

The daily writes that Polish children account for seven percent of the student body in some regions of Scotland, while at one school in Edinburgh, 30 percent of pupils were born to Polish parents.

Northern Ireland drops Polish, England to scrap Polish A-Level?

Meanwhile, extra classes in Polish have been dropped by education authorities in Northern Ireland.

Stormont had funded the classes since 2009, but the GBP 900,000 price tag proved too much and Polish was scrapped at the beginning of April. However, Polish language courses are still available in schools which are able to finance them independently.

In England, plans are also underway to scrap the Polish A-Level school-leaving exam by 2018.

The move has caused controversy, with the Polish Embassy in London protesting at the move and a petition gaining support of just under 15,000 signatures. (jb)