Blocking access to BBC Sounds for listeners outside the UK is a disaster | Letters

As a primary school teacher and an English language educator, Andrés Simón Gil Gil considers the decision a personal and professional loss

I am writing to express my deep frustration at the BBC’s recent decision to block international access to its BBC Sounds platform. Since 21 July, listeners outside the UK have been cut off from a vast archive of cultural and educational programming – material that, until now, represented the BBC’s global public service mission.

As a primary school teacher and an English language educator based outside the UK, I feel this decision as a personal and professional loss. For years, I have used BBC Sounds to access authentic, native-level English content that helped me improve my listening skills and bring real-world language into my classroom. It was an extraordinary free tool – one that supported both lifelong learning and international cultural exchange.