Language event hailed a huge success

A motivational careers fair to encourage young people to take up a GCSE language has been hailed a huge success.

Schools from Oldham and Tameside attended the big event hosted by Cranmer Education Trust, which saw their Language Hub Partner Schools come together.

They included  Audenshaw School, Droylsden Academy, Fairfield High School for Girls, The Hathershaw College, North Chadderton School, The Radclyffe School, Saddleworth School, St Anne’s C of E Academy, The Brian Clarke Academy, and The Blue Coat C of E School. 

Around 244 Year 9 and 11 students heard from David Binns, Director of UK Operations at SANAKO, at the fair held at The Brian Clarke Academy. One of their first languages career events ever. 

Mr Binns discussed the importance of a second language skill in relation to careers, especially at the initial interview stage.  

Following the talk, he welcomed questions from the students about languages within different career paths, as well as his own experience of languages throughout his career.  

Over 90% of students said the talk helped them to think more about their future career options with languages. 

Arion Quaynor, Curriculum Leader of MFL at Saddleworth School, praised the event: “David Binns was an excellent guest speaker, and the students came away with such positive reflections on the experience. 

“Their feedback has been overwhelmingly positive – they were really motivated by the talk and workshops. They gained a fresh perspective on the importance of languages. I’ll also add that these were 26 students I identified as being reluctant linguists.” 

Mr Binns, added: “I must comment on the attitude and behaviour of all the students from all the attending schools, it was exemplary, a credit to each of their schools. 

“During my talk, the students were very engaged with what I had to say about the benefits of a language skill in their future career.  

“The Q&A session at the end was fantastic, some brilliant (and some cheeky) questions from the students, but all expressed an interest to know more, but it was a great day. Students benefited from various businesses in the small exhibition area, which they really enjoyed. 

“So, to sum up, what a fantastic MFL event, huge congratulations to the organisers.”  

Following the talk, the students got the chance to speak to real-world professionals from a range of sectors thanks to a languages-focused careers fair.  

The fair featured 12 different stalls covering a range of sectors. The University of Manchester, The University of Leeds, and a former Blue Coat School student, Charlotte Whitehead, provided pupils with a chance to learn more about the opportunities available within Higher Education.  

Other local businesses and organisations including Hydrogen Safe, Oldham Theatre Workshop, Fletchers Solicitors, NOV Manchester and Greater Manchester Mental Health NHS Trust gave students the opportunity to learn more about the impact languages can have within careers. Manchester Nexus SCITT allowed students to discover how they can use languages to get into teaching, and the British Council’s Language Assistant Programme was on hand to talk to students about the exciting opportunities to teach abroad. 

Parbeen Alamgir, Associate at Fletchers Solicitors - pictured above (left) with Saima Mazhar (right) - said: “Being raised in Oldham myself, I was delighted to be invited along to this event to discuss the world of possibilities when having a second or third language. 

“I am a senior solicitor, specialising in birth injury clinical negligence claims for Fletchers Solicitors. As well as advising clients on a wide range of clinical negligence claims, and whilst my work is based in the UK, I often translate and interpret for new and potential clients. This is a crucial service as it ensures we can help even more clients who, otherwise, may have been turned away due to language barriers.

"As a birth injury specialist solicitor, often we have families seek legal assistance at their most vulnerable moments and some are even more vulnerable when English isn’t their first language. Providing access to justice for all means exactly that – it is all encompassing and inclusive. 

“Being bilingual allows me to connect more deeply with people and I’m privileged to be able to use languages each and every day in my profession."

Representatives from GCHQ and The British Army were also at the event, with several students highlighting how impactful it was to hear the influence that a language skill can have within these organisations. 

For many students, this was the first careers fair they had attended and valued the chance to speak directly with working professionals. 

Cranmer Education Trust’s Specialist Language Teachers, Michelle Massey and Catherine Woodward, have been working with their Language Partner Schools for the last 18 months to re-energise language learning, and felt that engaging with students directly to encourage greater uptake to GCSE languages was an important part of this process. 

They said: “It has been wonderful working with our partner schools over the last 18 months and being welcomed into these schools to develop languages provision for all our students with an aim to increase motivation and purpose for language learning. This event is the epitome of working together to build the profile and importance of language learning in today’s job market. 

“David Binns demonstrated that the communicative skills which learning a language offers allow our students to stand out when applying for jobs. Having the opportunity to also go round the different careers stands to see how languages can provide a springboard to their careers, was also a highlight for all our students.”