Rural schools are being disproportionately affected by falling numbers of language teachers.
According to the recent Scottish Teacher census, there have been huge drops in the number of English, French, German and Italian teachers since 2010.
Analysis by the Scottish Conservatives found that rural schools account for 58.9% of all losses.
The learning of at least one language is compulsory until the third year of secondary school, and there is growing evidence that they boost brain power and improve performance in other academic areas.
Nationally, English teacher numbers have declined by 141, from 2,788 in 2010 to 2,647, with rural schools losing 153.
In French, 319 teachers were lost, declining from 947 to 628, and 135 affecting local authorities in remote areas.
German teachers declined by 83, from 166 in 2010, across Scotland, 34 of which came from rural schools.
Meanwhile, Italian teachers declined from 10 in 2010 to seven in 2022. There are currently no rural schools with an Italian teacher.
