Young children at Upton Juniors in Broadstairs are being inspired to learn basic French and Spanish with support from older pupils from Charles Dickens School.

The Year 3B and 3G classes welcomed eleven Year 8 children who are working on the Language Leaders programme that is designed to help students develop their leadership abilities as well as their linguistic skills.

They taught the younger pupils how to greet people, how to introduce themselves and how to describe how they are feeling. They also taught them about French and Spanish food and landmarks.

 

Michelle Denby, Language Lead at Upton, co-ordinated the event. She explained: “Our Year 3 groups thoroughly enjoyed the fun, engaging and interactive lessons the Language Leaders had clearly worked hard to prepare and practice.

“The older students, including some former Upton pupils, introduced our pupils to French and Spanish landmarks and food, as well as teaching them some key vocabulary and pronunciation tips.

“The passion and enthusiasm for language learning that was shared was truly inspiring for everyone taking part – a love of languages is what we aim to nurture because that is what will allow our children to broaden their horizons in the future.

“This was an excellent opportunity to link with our local secondary school and give our pupils an insight into the type of lessons they can look forward to when they move on from primary education.

"The Charles Dickens pupils were superb role models for our children, showing exceptional skills in communication and leadership in addition to their impressive grasp of the languages they were teaching.

“Our children went home thrilled with their stickers and gifts and excitedly teaching their parents how to speak French and Spanish.”

Zoe Johnson, Curriculum Lead for Modern Foreign Languages at Charles Dickens, said the Language Leaders is an opportunity for Year 8 pupils to engage with languages outside of the classroom and pass on their enthusiasm for languages to others.

She added: “It is an effective was to give students the chance to practise their oracy skills and to interact with younger pupils. They planned their own lessons and activities and created their own resources over a number of weeks. They can’t wait to return."

Upton’s Assistant Head of School Gemma Scarr is full of praise for the initiative. She said: “It was great to see pupils come in from Charles Dickens and share their passion for languages with our youngest pupils.

“It was also wonderful to see former Upton children return and inspire others. Languages are so important and open doors to the wider world which is something we want to foster and encourage."

Upton’s language of the term is French and children are now using some of what they learned in practical settings such as answering the classroom register and saying what they would like for lunch.

Upton Junior School is part of the Viking Academy Trust with Ramsgate Arts Primary and Chilton Primary School, Ramsgate.

For more information contact Head of School Darci Arthur on 01843 861393.