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Links Yorkshire and Humber, first local centre in the region!

Region: Yorkshire [More Yorkshire news...]

Posted on: Monday, 01 Feb 2010

King Edward VII School and Language College

We are delighted to announce that our first local centre in the region has been awarded local centre status. King Edward VII Language College has an excellent reputation reputation and we welcome them to the Links local centre team.
 

South Yorkshire’s first Language College

King Edward VII School was designated as South Yorkshire’s first Language College in 1998, in recognition of its strengths in the teaching languages and its international outlook.
Since designation the school has been able to extend the range of languages to 8 different languages. These are Spanish (the first foreign language all students study), French, German, Japanese, Italian, Urdu, Arabic, Somali and Mandarin Chinese.
It has also developed the international ethos across the curriculum with now every department involved in international projects and exchanges with 15 partner schools in 10 countries, including Austria, China, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Japan, Spain and Uganda.

Taking language learning into the community

A large part of the Language College’s energy and resources are spent on supporting other schools and on carrying its ethos into the local community:

• Parents and adult learners:

There is flourishing evening class programme, with 10 languages being offered on various levels, attracting over 300 adult learners every week. Learners are parents, staff of the School and members of the wider community, including employees of local businesses.

• Community language schools:

Since becoming a Language College the School has hosted several complementary schools on its premises and supported the maintenance and development of Sheffield’s community languages. Currently 8 different community language schools use King Edward VII School as their base, teaching Arabic, Chinese, Farsi, Greek, Korean, Polish, Portuguese and Somali.

• Primary schools:

The School works with its five designated feeder primary schools, supporting and developing the teaching of Spanish across Key Stage 2, training primary colleagues, developing a SOW and accompanying resources which can be used by non-specialists and ensuring progressing into Key Stage 3. There are also good links with the LA Advisers ensuring coordination and sharing of best practice across the city and beyond.

• Secondary schools:

King Edward VII School takes its mission as a Language College very seriously and has actively supported other schools with the teaching and promotion of languages from the start. Through its partnership with ALL South Yorkshire it acts as the major local CPD centre for MFL teachers, organising numerous training events every year. These can take the form of series of twilight events or whole day conference, which draw also on the expertise and support of the cultural institutes and embassies of the target language countries as well as the Local Authority. In partnership with ALL KES also organises events for language students in schools, such an annual Vocational Language Conference for Key Stage 4/5 students and Sixth Form Days in French, German, Spanish, and Urdu. The Language College at King Edward VII School also leads on many other initiatives and networks, such as the SHELL group Schools/Higher Education Languages Link Group) and vocational language courses.

In recognition for its work the School has been awarded several national prizes and awards for its work:

•  the European Award for Languages (2002)
•  the Mary Glasgow Trust Award (2002)
•  the International School Award (2008)
•  the Spanish School of the Year Award (2009)
   

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