The number of foreign language assistants in Scottish schools has fallen by 80% in the past six years.

Figures from British Council Scotland revealed the total had dropped to 59, down from 284 in 2005/06.

Only seven out of 32 local authorities employed native speakers of French, German, Italian, Spanish or Chinese.

The British Council warned that Scotland could miss out on future international investment as a result of poor foreign language skills.

It said the fall in numbers of language assistants had been steeper in Scotland than in England, which saw a 21% decrease over the same period.

The foreign language assistant programme, run by British Council Scotland, is funded by the Scottish government.

Up to three schools can share a native speaker post, which costs £7,911 per year.

But, with the end of ring-fenced budgets, many councils have decided to spend the money on other areas. Read more.

See: BBC