A pioneering French language scheme at an Aberdeen primary school that has been widely praised for helping pupils to achieve remarkable levels of proficiency, is set to close at the end of this month after the Scottish government declined to extend its funding.

The scheme, established eight years ago at Walker Road Primary School and known as early partial immersion teaching, is the only one of its kind in the country. Usually children do not learn a foreign language until primary six, but at Walker Road pupils speak nothing but French in some subjects from their first day in class.

From the age of five pupils are taught by native French teachers, who work with general staff to teach subjects such as drama and physical education. As their grasp of French increases the range of subjects they are taught in the language rises.

Within two years, all pupils are able to read simple stories and do mental arithmetic in French. By primary seven, according to an evaluation of the project published by the University of Stirling in April, the most able pupils are surpassing their peers in the upper years of secondary school. Other benefits noted in the report include improved skills in English, increased confidence, and a more international outlook.

The project was introduced as a pilot in 2000. It was initially funded by Aberdeen City Council and the former Labour-led Scottish Executive, but shortly after the SNP Administration came into power last May it stopped contributing towards the scheme, leaving the local authority to foot the bill.

The council, which is struggling with well-documented financial problems, is now in a position where it cannot afford to continue. Ministers have refused to step in, arguing that it is the local authority's responsibility.

Mo Robertson, the head teacher, said she sympathised with the local authority, which is faced with “horrendous” choices, but she could not understand why the Scottish government was abandoning the scheme when research had shown it to be a success.

“We will not know the full benefits until these children are adults, but there have been a whole lot of things like more confidence, tolerance, and increased understanding because they have to listen carefully,” she said.

“About 20 per cent of our pupils do not have English as their first language and I am convinced the reason they have been absorbed is because of the project. The Scottish government said they would only fund it for seven years, but we don't have any paperwork to show that.”

Ms Robertson said that Walker Road could become a model for other schools and urged ministers to save the initiative. She said: “There is a lack of vision at the top. Scotland is a small country in a global world, and we need to get out there into that marketplace. If you can learn a second language you can learn a third. Children are like sponges, they just soak it all up.

“You can't replicate this in every school, and of course there will be people who say we had the Rolls-Royce version when they are getting the Mini Cooper, but surely you can do some languages at every level in primary schools? Someone in the Scottish government must be able to see beyond what we are doing?”

Robert McKinstry, from the Centre for Information on Language Teaching and Research at the University of Stirling, and a co-author of the evaluation report published earlier this year, said the school's hard work was already being eroded. “The teachers don't know from one week to the next if it is going to continue,” he said. “The project is still operating and the staff are as committed as ever, but morale has been on the low side.”

Although time is running out, there are hopes that the school could access European Union funding. This week Mr McKinstry met officials from Aberdeen City Council who believe that the scheme may be eligible for a European grant available to educational initiatives.

“We only have a few weeks left,” Mr McKinstry added. “We don't know for certain what is going to happen, but we are exploring every avenue.”

A spokesman for the Scottish government said that the funding had only ever been intended to last seven years. “The Scottish government agreed to fund the early partial immersion project at Walker Road Primary as a pilot, so that the rest of Scotland could learn from these experiences.

“The pilot lasted until the original cohort of P1 pupils had completed their primary education. Any further funding of the project beyond the pilot is now the responsibility of Aberdeen City Council.

“So that all schools can benefit from the Walker Road pilot, we commissioned project evaluation, ensuring there is a national benefit to Scottish government funding of this one school for seven years. Schools can now learn from these findings and consider the impact this might have on their modern languages provision.”

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