European Day of Languages is celebrated at Reed's

The celebration of European Day of Languages is a big event in the MFL calendar at Reed’s. The whole School celebrated the 6,000+ languages spoken around the world by taking part in a range of fun and interactive activities throughout the day.

Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink, the Chelsea football legend, kick-started the celebrations by attending our Assembly. Chelsea fans were particularly delighted to hear him speak about his career as a football professional, but he also impressed us with his love for languages. He spoke to pupils in Portuguese, Dutch and Spanish and was interviewed (in English!) by School Captain, Tom Hancock, about his career and the importance of languages.

During registration, pupils watched a video featuring students and teachers showing off their linguistic talent. At break, 400 muffins were ordered (and swiftly consumed) by pupils in a foreign language in a record of four minutes! It was great to see so many pupils take part.  

After break there was a carousel of languages taught in the MFL classrooms; Italian was introduced to Fourth Form pupils, Third Form pupils had the opportunity to learn Japanese numbers and Sixth Form linguists were stretched by learning Arabic.

The MFL buzz continued at lunch time thanks to our caterers offering a range of typical world food dishes for lunch. Additionally, several activities took place including a Kahoot Quiz, Quizlet-live and, finally, Fourth Form pupils were able to experience a 3D virtual-reality experience in the DPC ‘visiting’ Nice and Russia.

Other activities in the afternoon included an opportunity for First Form pupils to try out Japanese Drumming in the Assembly Hall and Fourth Form Hispanists attended a Flamenco Dance workshop; it was great fun to learn about Spanish customs.

It was a very successful day and praise must be given to the pupils at Reed’s who took every opportunity to throw themselves fully into the linguistic activities arranged for them. 

Fleur Cramoisan, Head of MFL