On Tuesday, some of our Year 10 students attended a China Day at the University of Southampton as part of the Mandarin Excellence Programme.  The day consisted of creative workshops where we learned about Chinese culture and poetry , and sang songs in Mandarin. We also attended a talk about the value of languages and what it might be like to study them at university. It was a thoroughly educational and enjoyable day, and our students came away motivated and excited about continuing their educational journey. To top it all off, Hove Park School won third prize for a video project describing their hometown in Mandarin!

We are delighted to announce the launch of our brand new Belgian exchange partnership. On Monday 20th – Saturday 25th May, we hosted the inaugural visit of 12 Belgian students and their teachers. The students shadowed their Year 9 buddies to experience a typical day at our school. We also enjoyed some lovely sunny evenings together with meals out and visits to Brighton seafront, culminating in a Friday night Ghost Walk around The Lanes. The visit was a huge success and our students and families did so well in making our visitors feel welcome. Well done to all the students who took part for their efforts. By Saturday everyone was sad to wave goodbye at Brighton station, but we look forward to our reciprocal visit to Belgium in October and we know some lasting friendships have been made.

James Sandford, the director here at Adur Language Hub, is speaking at the Language World Conference in Kenilworth on 8th-9th March. He will be giving a presentation on "Daring to develop curiosity in language and culture in Year 7", exploring the advantages of studying a wide selection of languages in the form of a carrousel in Year 7.

Earlier this month, 20 of our Year 8 German students went to London for a day full of German language, culture and food! The first port of call was the Goethe Institut in London (the main repository for German language, teaching and culture in the UK) and students took part in fantastically engaging lessons - covering diverse subjects such as graffiti art, the Berlin Wall and key expressions and everyday words. We then took part in a library quiz (our students won third prize) and took turns speaking German to the resident Goethe robot in the library. In the afternoon, we watched a German film in the spacious auditorium and went to Stein’s, a German restaurant specialising in traditional German dishes – we lapped up the Schnitzel and Currywurst! Students and staff had a great day – the Year 8 students were superb ambassadors for the school and were praised by the organisers of the event as “The best group of students in the classroom they had ever had!”

On Friday 9 th February, we took some of our Year 11 students for an overnight stay in China Town to celebrate Chinese New Year. It was a fantastic opportunity for our students to experience Chinese culture in a “mini China”. After school, we took the train to London (sustained by chocolates from Miss Qiao) and after dropping our bags off at our youth hostel, went into China Town to find our restaurant. The restaurant was very busy and almost everyone there was Chinese. There seemed to be only two waiters and it was very impressive how they rushed around carrying various dishes, and responding quickly to the frequent shouts of “Ni hao!” from the customers. This is an interesting cultural difference between China and the UK: in Chinese restaurants, if you want something, you simply shout “Ni hao” (the equivalent of “Hello”) at the waiter, and it isn’t considered rude! Our meal was very large: sixteen dishes! At first (after we had been given green tea) came two huge bowels of rice, and then beef, chicken, pork, tofu, duck, vegetables and various other things that we didn’t recognise, but which were delicious! By the time all the dishes were out, it looked as if they would fall off the revolving table! After that delicious meal, we went out to join the crowds on the streets. Under the famous red lanterns, it was easier to hear Mandarin or Cantonese than English being spoken, and the difficulty was not getting lost among the sea of people: it really did feel like being in Beijing rather than London. We took photos, and practised saying “Xinnian Kuaile” (“Happy New Year”). After that, we went for some refreshing bubble tea, and explored a Chinese supermarket which sold many interesting items. Then we went back to our youth hostel in high spirits, taking with us much of the meal from the restaurant which we had been too full to eat that evening.  The next day, after not quite a full night’s sleep (the students were still very excited and didn’t go to bed till late) we travelled back to Brighton very happy, and feeling as if we’d had a very fun and educational cultural experience. Xinnian Kuaile!

Over the past week, Hove Park School's Chinese After-School Club meticulously planned and hosted a captivating event filled with the charm of Chinese New Year for students from Year 7 MEP to Year 10 MEP (Mandarin Excellence Project). Students watched fascinating Chinese New Year videos and participated in engaging quizzes about Chinese New Year traditions. Everyone demonstrated a strong interest in Chinese culture, actively participated in interactions, and deepened their understanding of Chinese New Year. The traditional Chinese custom of "pasting Fu (福)" also became a highlight of the event. Everyone worked together to create various "Fu" characters symbolising happiness and good luck for the Year of the Dragon, experiencing the unique charm of Chinese culture. Even more delightful was that everyone learned to wish each other "Happy New Year" in Chinese and received a red envelope containing delicious chocolate coins. This small surprise made the event even more warm and memorable. To create a more festive Chinese New Year atmosphere, the Nevill Cafeteria was decorated with many items rich in Chinese elements, presenting a colourful cultural feast for the students. Through such activities, we not only celebrated traditional Chinese festivals but also promoted cross-cultural exchange, allowing more people to gain a deeper understanding of the richness of Chinese culture.

On Thursday morning this week , a former Head of Francophone Countries for HSBC, Michael Grainger, came in to Valley Campus to speak to the Y8 cohort prior to their options evening. Michael shared his experience of growing up without a strong background in languages at home and his journey through school, work during school, college and then university where he continued his passion for French and German. Michael became very successful within the multinational bank HSBC and he put much of this down t o his employer’s appreciation not only of his excellent communication skills in other languages, but also his deep appreciation of other languages and cultures which language study afforded him. Michael is a Brighton resident and is working with us in school to help develop links with local companies and develop our work experience offer. 

On November 28th a group of Year 9 and 10 Peer Tutors embarked on a Primary Festive Roadshow out to 3 of our local Primary schools. We visited over 200 students ranging from Year 3-Year 6 at Aldrington Church of England Primary, The Bilingual School and Stanford Juniors. Our Peer Tutors delivered a series of seasonal festive phrases to the students in 4 languages – Chinese, French, Spanish and German!  Our students received considerable praise from the staff and students at all the schools and Mrs Hunt and Mr Sandford were very proud of their commitment to the ethos of our primary outreach work. Students presented all the activities and worked in groups to really embed the languages. A huge pat on the back for all those involved!

Today, we had visitors in school supporting our German studies. The poet and polyglot Sophie Lau worked with Year 9 students of German on a poem written and delivered by a famous German singer, Julia Englemann. The workshops developed translation skills with students putting their skills into practice writing their own poems. The visit also included drop-ins into classes by Pauline Wick of the Goethe-Institut London . This work with the Goethe Institut is core to the aims of our Adur Language Hub, aiming to promote the positive aspects of language acquisition in school and to promote German as a language key to business and career possibilities.