LANGUAGE COLLEGE STATUS

 

 

In September 1999 Prince Henry’s Grammar School became the first Specialist Language College in the Leeds area, and is now one of over 250 throughout England. Specialist Language Colleges receive additional funding to improve provision and raise standards in language learning, both within the school curriculum and the wider community.

 

Prince Henry’s has received national acclaim for the diversity of its community provision. This includes language teaching in seven local primary schools, training and support for language teachers from across the region, and the school’s own Mandarin Chinese Community School.

 

Our flagship initiative, however, is the Community Education Programme, which has flourished over the past seven years, and now boasts one of the widest ranges of language courses in the Leeds area. By offering a direct subsidy on the cost of all language courses from Language College funding, Prince Henry’s is able to make language-learning more accessible to more people. Indeed, in 2006 - 2007, over 400 local people enrolled on a language course at Prince Henry’s.

 

As an independent provider, Prince Henry’s is able to respond to the needs of its own local community. Indeed, courses in Portuguese, Turkish, Greek and even Catalan were added to the programme in recent years in response to requests from local people.

 

Language learning is now firmly on the national agenda. In publishing “Languages for all: languages for life – a strategy for England” in December 2002, the Government recognised how badly Britain compares to the rest of Europe in terms of language skills, and the extent to which this is placing the country at a distinct disadvantage in economic terms.

 

Of course, many of us simply want to learn a language for leisure purposes, to help us to “get by” whilst on holiday, or to show our foreign hosts that, contrary to the stereotype, we have taken the trouble to learn something of their language and culture. And for others, language learning is a chance to meet other people, to brush up on “rusty” languages from our school days, or just to take on a new personal challenge.

 

Whatever your motivation, I encourage you to make the most of this excellent facility in your local community, and to enjoy the sense of fulfilment and satisfaction that comes with being able to communicate with another person in his or her own language.

 

 

Christopher Lillington

Assistant Headteacher: Language College / External Relations