European Day of Languages

One of the many intellectual challenges enjoyed in the Modern Foreign Languages Department is the immersion into languages above and beyond the French, German, Mandarin and Spanish taught on the curriculum. With the introduction of our weekly Clubs and Activities sessions, linguists and those with a love for languages have been able to indulge their fascination during sessions held after school. We offer a range of activities, from post-GCSE German through to beginners’ Russian and next term, in preparation for the UK Linguistics Olympiad, will train up would-be linguists, to use their skills of logic, scientific enquiry and linguistic deduction to solve puzzles in unknown languages. Each week, Instant Language offers a different world language, with pupils learning basic phrases in a new tongue. The unbreakable bond between culture and language has become evident through Polish tongue-twisters, Welsh place names and Estonian maps. 

We were also delighted to be able to celebrate the European Day of Languages in September with the Third Form. Particular delights were food tastings accompanied by pupils learning key phrases to describe what they were eating, as well as lessons taught by Sixth Form linguists. Our French, German and Spanish assistants are also doing a great job in supporting our aim to make language learning vibrant and relevant. 

Judy Thurman, Head of Modern Foreign Languages