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Pupils from senior schools across Solihull, Birmingham and Warwickshire - and as far afield as Leicester and Norwich - descended on Solihull School on Saturday 22 March for a day-long festival designed to inspire more young people to study a Modern Foreign Language.

During the day, which was offered at no cost to local schools, Europe’s leading language organisations, including Instituto Cervantes Manchester and the Oxford German Network, led innovative workshop sessions exploring key A Level themes in French, German and Spanish, while native speakers from within Solihull School offered short taster sessions in a range of languages, including Urdu, Welsh, Mandarin and Arabic.

In addition, leading academics from Oxford, Cambridge, University of Warwick, UCL, University of Birmingham and others shared their insights into the study of languages at GCSE and beyond, as well as the wide range of careers they make possible. 

Charles Fillingham, Executive Headmaster of Solihull School and a teacher of French and German, believes that languages have a unique ability to expand the outlook, ambition, and empathy of young people and that it is a tragedy that the number of young people studying languages in the UK continues to fall.

“At a time when employers are actively seeking employees with language skills to remain competitive in the global market, and there is an urgent and fundamental need for the people of the world to understand each other better to calm global tensions, the study of languages at school offers a chance to teach young people far more than simply how to make polite conversation with someone from another country,” he said.

“Our view is that languages encourage young people to lift their eyes above their immediate environment and to explore new horizons. We call this a ‘New Spirit of Internationalism’; this mindset is good for individuals and good for Great Britain too. We are encouraging the next generation to imagine themselves in a global future.

“It is incumbent upon us as educators to make languages thrilling – a window into another culture, a puzzle to be solved, a skill to be acquired. They offer an opportunity to explore the world from the classroom, to understand different cultures and feel at home in the global community. That’s the purpose of the festival, for pupils who attend to have an inspiring and enjoyable day - whether they are still considering languages as an option, or their heart is already set on pursuing them at university and beyond.”

The lunchtime interactive fair was a particular highlight of the festival, featuring exhibition stalls from the Goethe-Institut, Engage with China, and WoLLoW alongside others. Guests also enjoyed a European-inspired menu, a festival bookshop, a French crêpe stall, and live music from an accordionist.

Adding to the excitement, the school’s talented Dance pupils took centre stage in an authentic Spanish flamenco show, solo vocalist and Upper Fifth pupil Yeva sang in Ukranian, and children in the Prep School Samba Band added an energetic music performance, both of which brought colour, rhythm, and a celebratory spirit to the day.

Paul Morgan, Head of Modern Foreign Languages at Solihull School, said: “We were delighted by the enthusiasm and energy shown by everyone who attended. It was wonderful to see our pupils not only participating in but leading aspects of the day. The festival really captured the very best of what language learning has to offer.”

The day concluded with a panel discussion and a Q&A with leading language experts.

At Solihull School, the study of languages remains a fundamental part of the curriculum. All pupils study at least one of three Modern Foreign Languages offered to GCSE level with more than 90 percent achieving grades 9-5. At A Level, more than 80 percent of language students achieve grades A*-B. All year 7 pupils learn Latin to explore the origins of European languages and enthusiastic linguists can pursue both Latin and Ancient Greek to GCSE and A Level. The school also offers both French, German and Spanish exchange programmes and short immersion trips to all three countries to encourage the practising of languages.

Solihull School ranks in the top 5% for 'value added' which means that a child, whatever his or her starting point academically, is likely to end up with stronger examination results at Solihull than at 95% of other schools.

"The sessions, hospitality and networking opportunities were outstanding.  A truly inspiring day!" 

Asha Kauley, Head of Careers Wolverhampton Grammar

                        

      "We all had a really good day! I think our students really enjoyed the opportunity to speak to university professors and loved the language taster sessions. I thought the lecture-style workshops were great too." 

  Vicky Pidgeon, Nottingham High School 

                          

Solihull School extends its thanks to all who contributed to making the Festival of Languages such a resounding success and looks forward to continuing its celebration of language and culture in the future.