The number of bright students taking a modern language at GCSE has fallen to a record low, it was claimed today.

It has plummeted since the Government stopped making it compulsory for pupils to study a language beyond the age of 14.

Only 75 per cent of the highest achieving third of teenagers take a modern language at GCSE, compared with 94 per cent in 1984.

It is thought that although primary school pupils are being introduced to a foreign language many already in secondary school will not have had that exposure and are being turned off by the subject.

Cambridge Assessment, the exam board which released the figures, said it was surprised that uptake had dropped among the most academic teenagers.

A spokeswoman said: “It is common knowledge that there has been a rapid decline in the number of pupils taking modern foreign languages since it became an optional subject at Key Stage 4, in 2004. You wouldn’t buy an ice-cream maker if you’d never tried ice-cream.

“However it is surprising that there has been a fall in the uptake among high attainers, given the historical pattern [of those taking the subjects].”

Carmen L Vidal Rodeiro, a senior research officer at Cambridge Assessment, said: “Such a big drop in the uptake of languages by high attainers was a surprise.

“If students are not exposed to and have no prior knowledge of languages, how can we expect them to make an informed choice at GCSE?”

Participation in modern languages has declined across all attainment levels and school types.

The research also shows the growing popularity of Spanish. The assessment agency believes it is set to overtake German as the second most commonly taught language after French.

Languages which have not seen a decline include Arabic, Bengali, Chinese, Gujarati, Panjabi, Turkish, Polish, Portuguese and Urdu, reflecting the diverse population of Britain's schools.

The majority of students who enter for one of the “world” languages do so as native speakers. The clearest examples are Bengali and Turkish, where 95 per cent and 80 per cent of the entry, respectively, have it as their first language.

French is the most commonly taught language in primary schools.

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