asked the President of the Board of Education whether he will state the number of secondary schools in England and Wales, respectively, in which Spanish is taught, and the number of pupils in each country receiving instruction in that language; and whether, having regard to the importance of Spanish as a commercial language, he will take steps to urge as many schools as possible to include it in their curriculum?

In the school year 1930–31 there were 118 grant-aided secondary schools in England, and nine in Wales, in which provision was made for the teaching of Spanish. I regret that I have no information as to the number of pupils who received instruction in that language. On the importance of Spanish as a commercial language, I do not think that I could usefully add anything to what is said in the second interim and final reports of the Committee on Education for Salesmanship.