Bonjour, Guten Tag, Buenos días and a whole host of European greetings and conversations were heard at Portsmouth High School today as the school celebrated European Languages Day.

The language Department at the Southsea Independent Girls’ School organised a host of activities including a European assembly, house team quizzes, special European themed menu for girls to sample at lunchtime and a poetry competition; with girls submitting entries in French, Spanish, German and Latin. Teaching staff  dressed in the colours of a European flag.

European Languages Day is a Council of Europe initiative created in 2001 to celebrate language and cultural diversity. The Day aims to; alert the public to the importance of language learning, increase awareness and appreciation of all languages and encourage lifelong language learning.

Susan Humphreys; Head of Languages at the School said; “This is a great way to enthuse pupils about the importance of learning another language. At School girls have the opportunity to study up to 4 different languages. Having skills in another language sets our pupils apart in the global job market, but it is not just about learning a language to be more employable, understanding another language means you have more enriching and rewarding holiday experiences too; you are able to learn more about countries and their cultures"

Three Portsmouth High School pupils were amongst the top ten students in this summers GCSE Spanish according to Edexcel the UK’s largest awarding body. Of the 15756 candidates thy achieved some of the highest overall marks.  Research by CiLT, the National Centre for Languages shows that languages for all in Key Stage 4 is still the norm in Independent Schools. At Portsmouth High School, all pupils study at least 1 language to GCSE and many continue their language studies to A Level.