One in three state sixth forms are language deserts with no pupils studying French, Spanish or German, new data shows.
Official figures reveal 35 per cent of state schools and colleges had no pupils taking exams in any of the three most popular modern foreign languages last year.
The data, from the Department for Education (DfE), shows even some grammar schools and top-performing comprehensives had no language students.
It comes amid a long-term decline in languages take-up, with maths and science seen as more valuable for career prospects.
Since 2004, when languages were made non-compulsory at GCSE, the number of pupils taking them at this level dropped from 500,000 to 300,000.
