This month, we were delighted to attend the GDST Languages Day after a four year Covid-induced hiatus!
The theme this year was ‘Languages Create Adventures’ where students were encouraged to enjoy the extraordinary sense of adventure that being able to understand & communicate in other languages can give.
While we had hoped to attend the event in person, the weather conditions made it difficult to travel to Notting Hill and Ealing School and we therefore decided to join virtually. After weeks of preparation, our eighteen students were of course disappointed not to attend in person but still managed to take part in various events and competitions during the day.
Our students relished the opportunity to hear from a wonderful keynote speaker, Paula Beegan, who truly embodies the sense of adventure and who shared her love of languages and how they opened the door to so many adventures – from studying at Cambridge, UNESCO, international film festivals, to Human Rights Watch & more.
Year 7 and Year 8 then competed in French, German, Latin and Spanish Spelling Bees and made us proud with their dedication and resilience which culminated in excellent performances. A huge well done to Maysha C for winning the Year 8 Latin Spelling Bee!
The pupils went on to work collaboratively to solve clues in French, German & Spanish to find the murderer in their Murder Mystery Challenge. Year 9 prepared and performed amazingly creative 3 minute plays on the theme of ‘Unexpected Encounter’ in French, German and Spanish in front of an audience. Year 10 collaborated to create a wonderful mini-movie re-imagining an extract of ‘The Fox and The Crow’ in Latin.
Following the prize-giving, we spent time reflecting on the day and sharing the theme of adventure and language learning. Each participant enjoyed the day and felt inspired by the whole experience.
