Key points

• In 2025/26, 37 local authority secondary schools in Scotland offered at least one subject in the medium of Gaelic. This is five more than the 32 local authority secondary schools in 2024/25.
• Relatively fewer subjects were offered in the medium of Gaelic in 2025/26 compared to 2024/25; 32 compared to 33 respectively.
• Of the 37 local authority secondary schools which offered GME in 2025/26, the most common subjects offered were:
  • Gàidhlig (Gaelic Fluent Speakers; 35 schools)
  • Gàidhlig (Gaelic Learners; 30 schools)
  • Eachdraidh (History; 11 schools)
  • Nuadh-eòlas (Modern Studies; 11 schools)
  • Cruinn-eòlas (Geography; 10 schools)
  • Eòlas Creideimh (Religious Studies; 10 schools)
• In 2025/26, pupil uptake of the GME subjects offered varied from zero pupils (Fiosaigs (Physics)) to 3,320 pupils (Gàidhlig (Gaelic Learners)) across all stages and schools in Scotland.
• Of the 32 subjects offered in the medium of Gaelic, the subjects taken by the most pupils in 2025/26 were:
  • Gàidhlig (Gaelic Learners; 3,320 pupils)
  • Gàidhlig (Gaelic Fluent Speakers; 1,754 pupils)
  • Eachdraidh (History; 830 pupils)
  • Eòlas Creideimh (Religious Studies; 812 pupils)
  • Nuadh-eòlas (Modern Studies; 809 pupils)
• Across the majority of GME subjects offered in 2025/26, the number of pupils taking them generally decreases by pupil stage (from the highest in S1 to the lowest in S6). This is similar to the pattern in GME subject uptake by stage seen in 2024/25.