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“In order to thrive in the Modern World, a knowledge of other languages and the understanding of different cultures is not an optional extra but an essential part of being a citizen.”

In addition, the early exposure to a foreign language facilitates the acquisition of that language and the learning of other languages later in life. Many of our pupils go on to study a foreign language at A Level and beyond.

At St Hugh’s, French is taught by two subject specialists to all children starting in Reception, as part of the normal school curriculum.

There are two visits to France every year, one for 11 year olds and the other for 12 year olds. These visits contribute enormously to the success of the children at Common Entrance and in their scholarship exams.

In year 6 the children stay in a residential centre outside Paris and follow a programme of educational, cultural and social visits in order to get them better acquainted with France, its language and culture.

They spend a day in Paris visiting the ‘Eiffel Tower’, Trocadero, Montmartre, Sacré Coeur and they go on a boat-trip on the River Seine

They also spend an afternoon meeting their French pen-friends. The discussions are a great eye opener for the children. They learn about each other’s customs, school and home life in a very informal manner and for all the children of both countries it is a wonderful opportunity to practise the language learnt in the classroom, forge new friendships and broaden their horizons.

As part of their introduction to the French way of life, the children spend a morning at a market where they are given euros with which to buy their own lunch. This is a very popular activity and a good opportunity to use their French and do some shopping.

They spend another morning in Rheims where they visit the cathedral and are able to appreciate some of the cultural wealth that the town has to offer. This is followed by a tour of a Champagne vineyard where they learn how champagne is made.

Children in Year 7 (12 year olds) have a French language immersion week in a chateau in Normandy. Here, they follow a programme of ac tivities in French. These include climbing, an assault course, bread-making, archery, initiative exercises, circus skills and aeroball, as well as visits to a market and the ‘Mont St Michel’. They are under the supervision of French moniteurs, who help them practise the language and become better acquainted with French culture. This is always a very popular week. The children leave with a greatly improved ability to speak the language and, m ore importantly, the confidence to use it.

To give the children a fuller appreciation of their European origin, and to raise awareness of Europe’s multilingual wealth, we also organise after school beginners’ clubs in Italian and Spanish.

In year 8, after their Common Entrance exams, the pupils have taster sessions in Mandarin, Arabic and German.

In addition, this year we celebrated ‘languages’ day’ with the help of our multi-lingual children. They gave our pupils a variety of presentations in Russian, Japanese, Urdu, Spanish, French and German. Next year we are hoping to add some other languages.

Language-learning is primarily about communicating with people. We aim to foster a positive attitude to language-learning and feel that the study of foreign languages helps the children of St Hugh’s to be outward-looking and gives them a wider understanding of different countries and cultures.