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LANGUAGE COLLEGE STATUS

As we move into our twelfth year as the first Specialist Language College in the Leeds area, our programme of language learning opportunities for the local community continues to thrive. We believe that no other secondary school in West Yorkshire offers such a diverse range of language courses on just one site, as part of its own independent programme.

Specialist Language Colleges receive additional funding to improve provision and raise standards in language learning, both within the school curriculum and the wider community. At Prince Henry’s we have an annual budget of some £50,000 to support several community-based initiatives in language learning, and over half of this money is used to support the Community Education Programme. This means that our students pay less than 60% of the “real” cost of the courses they attend.

Over the past eleven years numbers of students on language courses have increased ten-fold, and in 2009 - 2010, over 500 local people enrolled on a language course at Prince Henry’s. This is because:

  • We use our additional Language College funding to provide a direct subsidy of £10 for all students enrolling on two-hour language courses, as compared with other courses from our Community Education Programme. We also subsidise small groups in lesser taught languages, where otherwise they may not be viable.
  • As we are an independent provider, we make up our own rules! This means that we are very flexible in accommodating individual requests to add new languages and levels to the programme. Likewise, we have no rigid policies in terms of minimum numbers. Instead, we consider the viability of each course individually.
  • We aim to establish a friendly, supportive environment for learning languages, in which students will develop their language skills, gain a greater insight into the culture and people of the relevant countries, and get to know other people with a similar interest.
  • Unless students specifically choose an accredited course, they can enjoy learning a language without worrying about passing exams or producing evidence of their learning.

This year’s programme again includes after-school “Family Language Learning” courses for parents to learn alongside their children. In total there are 37 classes in 10 different languages.

If you have learned a language with us in the past, we hope you will join us again in the coming year. If you have not yet taken advantage of this unique language-learning resource, we would be delighted to welcome you onto our programme.

 

Christopher Lillington
Assistant Headteacher: Learning Specialism / Language College Director

 

 

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