Mr Charles Fillingham, Executive Headmaster, would like to invite you and your GCSE and sixth form students to Solihull School’s first National Festival of Languages, which will take place at our Warwick Road, Solihull campus on Saturday 22nd March 2025, and is hosted in partnership with Norwich School and Cheadle Hulme School.
The festival promises to be a celebration of languages from across the globe, whether your students wish to explore a new language, dive deeper into the culture of one they are studying already, or explore the myriad of exciting career opportunities that studying languages can offer for young people. GCSE students, as well as all those studying languages at A Level, are warmly invited to attend, along with their teacher or a parent/carer.
The day will consist of a series of engaging and inspiring lectures and workshops, given by representatives from organisations such as the Instituto Cervantes, Routes into Languages, Birmingham University, and the University of Oxford. The day will culminate in a flamenco show, performed in the Bushell Hall by a team of Dance students from Solihull School in collaboration with the Instituto Cervantes.
Students who are attending the festival will be able to participate in workshops to develop their skills, become familiar with some key A Level themes relating to Spanish, German and French including the work of the film director Pedro Almodóvar, German reunification and the celebrated French film ‘La Haine’, as well as dip into fun taster sessions in a variety of languages, including Welsh, Arabic, Mandarin, Latin, Urdu and Panjabi, run by teachers from Solihull School.
The festival will also provide an insight into university courses and potential careers to inspire and broaden the horizons of all those attending. Throughout the day, there will be an exhibition and refreshments in our George Hill social area, where attendees will have the opportunity to talk to representatives from several language-related organisations and companies.
Entry is free and sixth form students do not have to be accompanied by a teacher or parent. We hope that you and your school will join us for an enriching and enjoyable day’s exploration and celebration of languages.
Programme:
10.00am Arrival
10.30am Welcome address in the Bushell Hall, Solihull School
10.45am Key note speeches (Dr Kaul, Dr Geraldine Horan, Professor Robert Vilain, Dr Edward Boothroyd – representing Birmingham University, UCL, University of Oxford.)
11.45am Break
12.00noon Spanish, German, French Workshops
12.45pm Lunch and Exhibition in George Hill Building – including Solihull School alumni discussing how they have used languages in their career.
Taster workshops in Arabic, Urdu, Welsh, Mandarin, Hindi and Panjabi
2.15pm MFL at University talk
3.00pm Spanish, German, French Workshops
3.45pm Break and Exhibition in George Hill Building
4.00pm Flamenco show and closing remarks – “fire side chat” with key note speakers
5.00pm Depart
If you would like to reserve places, please contact Mrs Taylor TaylorL@solsch.org.uk