The status of Spanish

Madam, - I note with interest that only 1,972 students sat a Leaving Certificate Spanish paper this year while 30,592 students…

Madam, - I note with interest that only 1,972 students sat a Leaving Certificate Spanish paper this year while 30,592 students sat French. Is it not odd that so many students still undertake to study an increasingly redundant language?

With a campaign in the US to give Spanish language the same status as English, is it not time our schools and the Department of Education impressed on young people the importance of this language? - Yours, etc,

MICHELLE LEE, Crumlin, Dublin 12.