The Spanish Education and Science minister, Mercedes Cabrera, is in London today to attend the launch of the 'Languages Work, Spanish' campaign, which is a joint project involving the Education Council of the Spanish  Embassy and the UK National Language Centre.

Ms Cabrera said that the programme aims to "promote the learning of Spanish, which, according to the figures, is an increasingly popular language in this country," especially in the primary and adult education sectors, although there are some "complications" in secondary schools.

The minister, who will be meeting her UK counterpart, Alan Johnson, and attending a conference at King's College (London) about "the importance given by the Spanish government to public education," said that the popularity of the Velázquez exhibition at the National Gallery is a further sign of the growing popularity of Spanish life and culture.