Lost tongues

Fewer British students are signing up for foreign language degrees at university, according to figures from Surrey University. Statistics from UCAS, the applications body, show that last year only 2,074 people applied to read German, 21 per cent down on the previous year. Applications were also down for French (by 15 per cent) and Russian (by 11 per cent). Even language courses combined with subjects such as law and business registered a drop.