2024 – 2025 Highlights: MFL

Languages have thrived at Channing in 2025, a year in which we have innovated and extended what we do in the MFL Department.

The best example of this was our very first Languages Showcase, a celebration of diversity within Channing and a spectacular cornucopia of culture, music, poetry, song and dance, drawing on nine different languages. This included Saskia C displaying immense linguistic virtuosity singing Shakira’s Estoy aquí, Kezia C delivering Déjeuner du matin by Prévert with soulful intonation, and Elizabeth S and Sereny S reciting Goethe’s Gefunden. Natasha B and Teresa G rendered Verlaine’s Green with perfect expression and Pia M gave us a moving rendition of La domenica dell’ulivo by Pascoli. Year 8 students presented a fantastic array of readings, research and their song compositions, and their dance acts were met with wild applause. The willingness of so many students to perform in or about a foreign language and culture with such accomplishment in multiple languages is a testament that our student-linguists are more than 10% braver.

Our students also enjoyed multiple linguistic successes this year: Elizabeth S won the global Poesiae Recitation Competition for Year 12 with her authentic rendition of Eva Rechlin’s Die Wolke and Agi T the Year 10–11 category of the Oxford German Olympiad for her German word games. They, and three more students, were invited to Oxford University for the prizegiving in June: Liliane B and Dahlia C for their song about football written and performed in German to the tune of Beethoven’s Für Elise, and Mariia S for her German board game design. Winnie D was commended for her French poetry translation in the Stephen Spender competition, and Rory M for French and Siana C for Spanish in the Anthea Bell Prize run by Queen’s College, Oxford. Amelia S, Ellie S and Sereny S successfully completed the Langevity Programme – a six-week introductory course about languages and linguistics run by Emmanuel College, Cambridge.

Our student-linguists engaged in writing impressive articles in or about foreign language and culture in our new MFL publication The Fearless Linguist, an innovation introduced by Miss Becker, our new Head of French & Spanish, superbly edited by Sereny S and Pia M.

I was delighted that we were able to organise the first MFL trip to Oxford University, where 24 students met Channing alumnae Professor Lähnemann (who specialises in medieval German), participated in an interactive creative translation workshop at Queen’s College, and met students and staff from Pembroke College’s Languages Department. Amelia S commented: “It helped us to understand key aspects of university life, including the admissions process, interviews and the vast opportunities which studying languages can lead to.” Visits to the Oxford University Press’ Languages Department and the Ashmolean completed the day.

Not to be outdone by the Other Place, four of our Year 11 linguists were invited to Girton College to find out about studying Modern Languages at Cambridge, where students study two languages. They learnt about taking a new language from scratch as their second language, with the exciting options including Arabic, Hebrew, Russian or Ancient Greek. They were inspired by the day, with Carlotta B-P’s review of the day being selected by the college’s fellows to win a prize – in summary: “A really exciting day; I learned a lot more about university life and how languages can influence your career.”

Students in every year group enjoyed a cornucopia of languages activities during Languages & Heritage Week and on Europe Day: all forms enjoyed a quiz which explored the source of loan words such as “almanac” (Arabic) and “slalom” (Norwegian). Year 7 students designed their own interpretations of 2D and 3D European monuments for our European Day of Languages Creative Competition, judged by Mrs Hughes. Lucia’s leaning tower of Pisa was the worthy winner. Further highlights included a Lanyard Challenge, introduced by Miss Becker. Students enthusiastically approached staff to find out the word (in French, German, Spanish or Latin) on their lanyard. Our status as a European Parliament Ambassador School continues to offer our students exciting opportunities, including learning about democracy. While Year 12 Junior Ambassadors were visiting a poetry, art and cultural workshop hosted by the European Parliament Liaison Office, back at school we ran a Tongue-twister Challenge. Students’ pronunciation was so impressive that 160 blue/yellow-themed reward cupcakes, baked by our wonderful catering team, disappeared in a flash. We are all looking forward to next year already!

Ms Pavlopoulos, Head of MFL

GERMAN

German has had an exceptional year, not only with multiple successes but also with two brand new trips.

Advent in Munich
Thirty-one intrepid German learners in Year 9 and 10 set off to improve their knowledge of language, life and Lebkuchen in Germany last November. A huge thank you to Frau Loosli, Ms Lindsay and Clémence, our French Language Assistant, who accompanied the trip. Here is a summary of student reviews by contributors Emma, Riana, Flores, Aenea, Sofia, Victoria and Bayla:

We went to the Science Museum with students from St Anna Gymnasium, getting to know them before walking back along the River Isar to their school to eat the cakes that they had kindly baked. They then gave us a tour around the school. It was very fun. We saw a German musical version of Dickens’ A Christmas Carol: Eine Weihnachtsgeschichte. We had amazing seats in the theatre and were able to widen our German speaking by watching and trying to understand. It had some great costumes and characters. We went to see Moana 2 (known as Vaiana in Germany) in the cinema. The film was in German, but it was surprisingly easy to understand. Es war sehr toll, interessant und ziemlich cool!

The Year 10s had the wonderful opportunity to go and see Der Madrigalchor, an advanced a capella group, sing live at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater München in Munich. It was an extraordinary experience to hear the classical music of another culture live during our visit. We also enjoyed our outing to the fascinating NS Dokumentationszentrum, where we explored the history of the rise of the Nazis and the role of Munich specifically.

The highlight of our trip was when we visited three lovely Christmas markets and explored them. We ordered our food in German and looked around at the traditional German foods, such as Lebkuchen, Brezel and Schnitzel. We went to famous ones such as Weihnachtsmarkt am Marienplatz, Weihnachtsmarkt am Wittelsbacherplatz and Weihnachtsdorf im Residenzhof. Es hat sehr viel Spaß gemacht!

German Film at the British Film Institute
Year 8 German classes visited the British Film Institute. We had an informative talk about German history and culture and got to do lots of speaking and writing and saw clips of films that we had to analyse. We watched the movie Berlin 36 in German, which is about an Olympic high jumper, Greta Bergmann, who wanted to compete in the 1936 Summer Olympics but was prevented due to discrimination towards Jewish people in Germany at that time. The movie was very moving and intriguing and made us understand the struggles Jewish people had to face during those times. Thank you to Frau Loosli for organising this trip for us.
— Matilde L

Ms Pavlopoulos, Head of German

FRENCH

We have had a busy and exciting year in the French Department, including debating, theatre and two trips!

Nice Trip
During half-term, a group of Year 11 and 12 students, accompanied by Ms Romero and Ms Pavlopoulos, travelled to Nice, France, for four days. We stayed with local residents, which was perfect to practise our French. Every day we had a three-hour French class, where we practised our conjugations and vocabulary, whilst practising our conversation skills with a French native. In the afternoon we did different activities: a guided tour of Nice, a crêpe-making lesson, lunch with pupils from the Lycée Stanislas, shopping on the main street, and we visited the Matisse museum. For me, the highlight of the trip was meeting pupils from Nice and being able to speak to them in French – we learnt about French culture and made some amazing new friends abroad!
— Natasha B

Onatti Play
Year 9 French students had the exciting opportunity to watch a play in French. French actors from the theatre company Onatti came to perform Prendre sa Revanche for us. It was about two antique dealers, Ver and Hugo, who try to fool customers by passing off fake antiques as real ones, but end up becoming the fools themselves when they are discovered. The play was entertaining and we found that the language was straightforward to understand. This, alongside the actors’ delivery, meant that we could follow a whole play in a different language, despite only having studied French for two years and a term. What we really enjoyed about the play was how they allowed the audience to participate. We particularly enjoyed performing in it ourselves!
— Jasmine C and Sonia H

French Debating Competition
A team of two Year 12 French students went to St Paul’s Girls’ School to participate in the regional French debating competition. We had to prepare to debate in French, both for and against three motions: whether AI should be banned in schools, whether urban sprawl should be stopped, and whether, if we were in the place of Astérix, we would have made peace with the Romans. We were only told when we arrived whether we would be for or against the motions. It was an incredibly valuable experience, allowing us to develop our public speaking skills and our spontaneity in another language. It was also really nice to get to know other French students from different schools, and despite being slightly stressful, it was a very rewarding experience.
— Natasha B and Teresa G, Year 12

Careers with French Talk
In March, I attended a really interesting talk from Stella Ramsden, our librarian Ms Ramsden’s sister, hearing about both her time at Oxford studying joint honours Latin and French, and how this led to working in the animation industry in France. I found this talk really informative and enjoyed learning about what it’s like to work in production for projects such as music videos, adverts and feature films. I was especially interested in hearing about Stella’s experience of becoming immersed in speaking a second language and how living in a place where the language is spoken helps to improve understanding, fluency and confidence. As someone learning French, I found this really interesting and encouraging, as I too would love to improve my French by becoming more involved in speaking and communicating with others and having a deeper understanding of the language!
— Darcy G

Normandy Trip
Year 8 French pupils went to Criel-sur-Mer in Normandy during Enrichment Week and had a wonderful sunny time whilst being immersed in the language and culture. Here is a summary of our trip by Charlotte R, Rafaella C, Amelia A, Thea T, Millie P, Emilia M, Alina K, Amalia G and Madame Romero:

After getting the ferry to Calais, we enjoyed a break at Le Touquet where we relaxed on the beach. We then had a guided visit in French at La Chocolaterie de Beussent where we got to try different types of chocolate and learned about how it was made. Once we arrived at Château de Chantereine, we met one of our animatrices, Louise, to play a scavenger hunt! Our second day started off with half the group completing challenges and the other half making bread. In the afternoon, we visited La Chèvrerie La Petite Caulette. There were so many animals: quails, geese, chickens, chicks, cats, and of course goats, which we got to hold! We also tried goat cheese. The afternoon ended at Le Tréport, where we ate ice creams, bought a few souvenirs and walked along the beach before going on its funicular to enjoy the seaside view. On Thursday, we visited the market in Dieppe in the morning. We bought things to eat in a baguette on the beach. We then visited the school Rachel Salmona. In small groups, we went on a tour with French students, whilst completing puzzles to find the next room and the next clue. Afterwards, we had a typical French goûter with the students and ate lots of petits pains whilst chatting to them in Franglais! The day ended with an evening visit to the beach of Criel-sur-Mer. We paddled in the sea, watched the sunset and played volleyball with some of the boys from the French school – it was lots of fun! On our final day we went to La Boulangerie d’Escoeuilles, where we learned how to make more bread and ate freshly baked pain au chocolat. Before heading to Calais to board the ferry, we stopped off at L’Hypermarché Auchan where we bought final souvenirs and French treats. Merci to the Year 8s for being fantastiques on the trip and to Madame Pavlopoulos, Madame Garrill et Madame Loosli for accompanying.

SPANISH

We have had an excellent year in Spanish, including a new trip to Cádiz!

Onatti Play
In January, the Year 9 Spanish classes watched the brilliant Spanish Onatti play. Spanish actors from an MFL theatre company, Onatti, who are touring their play across the country, came to perform Primera Cita for us in the AC. It was a real joy to watch, from the entertaining storyline to the audience participation, which encouraged many girls to become a part of the show. The actors were excellent and constantly made us laugh. We learned lots of new words, and it was exciting when we heard phrases and vocabulary that we could understand from our learning. We were really lucky to have had the opportunity to watch this play, as we got to enjoy an amusing and engaging show, as well as learning new things to help us improve our Spanish skills.
— Daisy C

Year 8 Cádiz Trip
Year 8 Spanish pupils went to El Puerto de Santa María in the province of Cádiz during Enrichment Week and had a fantastic four days in the sunshine, soaking up the culture and improving their Spanish. Here is a summary of our trip from the following contributors: Aavu A, Amairah R, Roop N, Suki D, Silvia O M, Arya P, Gabby M A, Ramun N, India B, Amelia J, Ava K, Betsy L, Elli P, Iris F, Phoebe, Edie C and Señorita Becker:

When we arrived in Spain, we were greeted by our Spark chaperones, Niko and Pedro, and got the coach to our hotel, Hotel Pinomar, in El Puerto de Santa María. During the trip, we did a walking tour of El Puerto de Santa María, where we visited the bullring and then walked through the town’s market, learning lots of new food vocabulary. Afterwards, we had churros con chocolate! It was very delicious, and we also had the chance to order our own drinks in Spanish. Next, we went to an old castle, El Castillo San Marco, which we had a tour around. We learned a lot about Spanish history, including the different religions and cultures which have shaped Spain, such as its Arabic and Roman influences. In the afternoon, we played padel and had to speak to the instructors in Spanish. At the end, we had an informal padel competition and even the teachers got involved! Later on that day, we had some time on the beach, which was really fun, and in the evening, we enjoyed pizza on the beach!

On the next day, we took a ferry from El Puerto de Santa María to Cádiz. When we arrived, we got to see the town hall and cathedral and learn about their history. Next, we visited the food market. We bought lunch there in Spanish, and it was all very fresh, cooked in front of us. Then we went up the Torre Távira and saw different parts of Cádiz with the cámara oscura, which was really cool! Afterwards, we went to a Roman amphitheatre, which was very well preserved. Later on, we got free time to go around the shops in Cádiz. We had the opportunity to buy souvenirs, gifts and food, and we even all got to get ice cream, which we ordered in Spanish. In the evening, we had tapas out at a restaurant.

On the last day of our trip, we made paella. We cut up the vegetables and learnt how to say all the ingredients in Spanish – it was really fun! After making paella, we had a flamenco class in Spanish. It was very interesting to learn how to dance the flamenco. After our flamenco class, we took part in a quiz in the park, where we split into groups and guessed the prices of Spanish food and drinks. We also wrote postcards about our trip to different staff members at Channing. Then we ate the paella we had made earlier in the day. There were options of seafood, chicken or vegetable paella. Once we finished our lunch, we received certificates from the teachers, such as for the person who spoke the most Spanish, the person who had been 10% braver and the person who had best demonstrated Channing’s values. We then got the coach back to Seville Airport, where we began our journey home. We were tired, but we had a really fantastic time on our trip!

Thank you and gracias to the Year 8s for being such a pleasure to take to Spain, and to Señor Waring, Señor Jackson, Señorita Sequeira, Señorita Jiménez, Señorita Zuluaga y Señorita Gomez for accompanying! – Miss Becker, Head of French & Spanish