Fairfax Academy Languages Week: An ambitious week-long languages event not only celebrated different cultures from around the globe – it also brought together students from across Birmingham.
The jam-packed European Languages Week at the Sutton Coldfield School – which is part of the Fairfax Multi-Academy Trust (FMAT) – wrapped up on Friday with a fun Languages Breakfast.
On 26 September, the official European Day of Languages, staff and students from Bournville School joined Fairfax pupils to learn and celebrate together.
Alongside themed food, the event included presentations on French, Spanish, German and Polish, a flag challenge, a treasure hunt, and talks by A Level students Ellia and Oliver on why students should consider studying a language.
Head of French at Fairfax, Alison Jamieson, explained: “This was our first FMAT Languages Breakfast, and the student response was very positive! Doing it on European Day of Languages was perfect too.
“The students got to work in mixed groups with students from both schools to complete a series of cultural competitions, with awards at the end for the winners.”
Alia Flórez-Abad, Subject Leader for Spanish at Bournville, said: “Today is a very important day for those of us who are not native speakers of English.
“It’s important for students to know there are so many wonderful countries out there in the world. Maybe some of them will do what I did 20 years ago – work abroad, fall in love with a country and its people, and move overseas. Learning a language and visiting other countries really can change your life.
“I’ve seen our students interact with the Fairfax students – they’re doing so well at all of the activities and they’re loving it – I could see so many smiles!”
The Breakfast was the grand finale in a busy calendar of events, which had Fairfax students across all year groups engaging with foreign languages and cultures all week.
Each day of the week focused on a different European language, with lunchtime activities, form quizzes and themed food in the refectory to go along with it. Staff even did their registers in the language of the day.
Monday was French, Tuesday was Italian, Wednesday was Spanish, Thursday was German and Friday was Polish.
Mrs Jamieson said: “All of our staff are involved in some way – either in form time, in MFL lessons, lunchtime activities, competitions or even just greeting students in a different language.
“We also try to include students who have a different home language outside the five main languages – this year we had a Year 12 student helping with Portuguese, for example.
“It’s wonderful for our students who speak English as a second language to have the chance to share their culture and mother tongue with the whole school.”
Students also had the chance to take on leadership roles during the week, overseeing lunchtime activities as Language Ambassadors. Lunchtime activities included bingo, “guess the language”, taster Polish and Italian cinema.
There was a poster competition for Year 7 students, which challenged them to research a European country of their choice and create a poster.
The much-loved flag challenge, which has become an annual staple at Fairfax, made its return, with ten members of staff across different faculties wearing a European flag badge throughout the week. Students raced to find which teacher was wearing which flag – with prizes for the first ten students to complete the challenge!
Mrs Jamieson said: “The aim of the week is to raise the profile of modern foreign languages (MFL) in school, and to give the students an awareness of other European languages and cultures.
“European Languages Week is always such a hit at Fairfax, and it’s been great to get Bournville involved this year too.”
Mrs Flórez-Abad said: “It’s such a positive thing that FMAT brings the schools together with events like this. Children get to meet one another with similar interests, and learn that we as a Trust are a community.”
Teacher of French Mr C Walters said: “We were delighted with the success of our recent Language Breakfast. It was a wonderful opportunity for students to engage with languages outside of the classroom in a fun, interactive and memorable way.
It was especially rewarding to see all three languages taught across the Trust represented, giving students the chance to broaden their cultural horizons while enjoying a shared experience.
Our students truly shone throughout the event, representing their schools with enthusiasm, respect and pride. Their fantastic participation highlighted not only their language skills, but also their teamwork and commitment to learning.”
Fairfax Principal Sean Castle said: “The Languages Week was a huge success and I want to thank everyone who helped make it happen – and it was great to welcome Bournville students to take part too.
“Modern Foreign Languages are a very important part of the curriculum at Fairfax, through which we encourage our students to develop a curiosity and fascination in discovering the world around them.
“The FMAT Languages Week was a fantastic and colourful way to do that.”
Fairfax Academy Languages Week
