Solihull School

The following are just a selection of the activities enjoyed by the Modern Languages Society:

1.Madame Best Memorial French Poetry competition.

For the first time in recent years, Solihull School entered a team in two age groups of this competition, under 14 and sixth form.

The competitors prepare and learn off by heart a poem selected by the judges and then perform the poem in heats of up to 10 competitors from other schools from the Birmingham and Solihull area. They are judged on their pronunciation and expression during the delivery of the poem by the French lecteurs at Birmingham University. If they get through the heats they are invited to perform in front of all the assembled schools and judges in the finals. The tension really mounts at this point!

I am delighted to report that we were very successful with Alex Weaver IVB being highly commended and Chris Williamson IVB winning first place in the under 14 age group. Also, Ed Houghton UV1 came second in the very competitive sixth form class.

Thanks to Suzanne Wolffe and Andrea Parker who trained the boys for this event.

2. French Breakfast Saturday September 23rd 2006

Over a dozen Sixth Formers celebrated the beginning of the new school year with a hearty French breakfast. There was plenty of fresh coffee to wash down oodles of croissants, tartines and pains au chocolat, all of which got the morning off to a relaxed and friendly start. Making small talk in French is not the easiest of tasks, but having a go is what counts! We were fortunate to have several French visitors, who gave the appropriate je ne sais quoi to the event. Stéphanie talked about her life in the South of France and of the internationalism of the Birmingham hotel in which she worked. Our Rumanian visitor also added a cosmopolitan touch, speaking as she did French, Spanish, English and, of course, her native Rumanian. Mme Le Saint, M. Grandrieux and Mme Wolffe also added their Frenchness. Le Saint minor charmed us all, with all the internationalism of one who is but 1 ½ years old, as well as trying to eat most things at eye level. She reminded us that we will be competing in Europe with others who are, like her, trilingual or even bilingual!

We hope the Sixth Form gain as much from their language learning and the cultures to which it opens doors, as teachers in the Modern Languages Department at Solihull School still do. Many thanks to Suzanne Wolffe for her excellent breakfast, and for taking this initiative to get the year off to a good start.

3. Languages Awareness Evening

On Thursday 28th September, over 70 people gathered to enjoy the first Languages Awareness Evening organised by the Modern Languages Department at Solihull School. Coinciding with European Week of Languages, it was a fitting start to a week of activities all over the country, inspiring and motivating young people to keep up with their languages or, indeed, to learn a new language.

The evening was a great success. We enjoyed a rich variety of presentations, each one focussing on a different aspect of language learning. We were very lucky to have six speakers, all willing to give up their time to inspire us and give us food for thought. Some spoke from personal experience and others from their professional perspective. It was good to listen to parents of pupils in Solihull School. Mrs Ouarmin talked of the pleasures of speaking three languages, treating us to a taste of Mandarin. Mr Holden talked about the impact of his ‘A’ level German on his time at school and on his subsequent career. Gareth Ledsham and María Mingallón, of Arup Civil Engineering, talked of the importance of languages in multinational firms, and the continued cultural benefits of learning languages, even as an adult. Neil Mc Gowan talked of his recent degrees in French and German, and the surprising career path he has eventually taken. Finally, two of our speakers represented the academic side of language learning. Dr Craig Blunt, Senior Tutor at Birmingham University, impressed upon us the extraordinary breadth of degrees in languages, and the transferable skills which language graduates have to offer in the work place. Professor Robert Vilain, from Royal Holloway in London, and visiting Professor at Christchurch College Oxford, chose to amaze us with the eclectic range of jobs into which his recent language graduates have gone. Language graduates are the third in the employment league tables; and it seems there are few professions which would not welcome with open arms the skills they have.

The informal gathering after the formal procedures gave students an opportunity to talk to our speakers and follow up personal interests. We are delighted that Professor Vilain has agreed to return, to inspire our committed Sixth Form linguists with his passion for German literature. It is lovely to welcome Robert , who is an Old Silhilian, back to Solihull.

I would like to thank to John Mc Gowan, for helping me to organise the evening, to my colleagues in the MFL Department for supporting us, and to the catering staff for their contribution. Finally, we appreciate the support and interest we received from parents and students. We hope that this can be an annual event.

Film Evenings 2006-7

In September, we got going in style by getting to the cinema twice in two weeks to see new films in French and Spanish. Students were able to enjoy some time on the campus of Warwick University before the films, an added bonus to two very enjoyable evenings. Lower Sixth and Upper Sixth Spanish students saw Almodóvar’s most recent film ‘Volver’. In spite of some initial reservations on their part about ‘foreign’ films, we all had a very pleasant evening and were treated to one of Almodovar’s best films yet: visually stunning, funny, provocative and at times controversial, the film held our attention to the end. It was an excellent introduction to Spanish culture and to many of the iconic themes in Spanish literature and film.

Students of French went to Warwick Arts Centre to see ‘Tais-toi!’ (‘Shut Up!’). French humour can be difficult for English people to grasp but this was a delight. Gérard Depardieux was remarkable in one of his funniest roles yet: he finds himself in prison, but rejected by his cell-mates who can’t take his constant talking. Riotously funny scenes of escape, wild car-chases, embarrassing moments, all held our interest. The French was clear and we relaxed. We are planning more films, some in-house. We have a great collection of up-to-date films we want to share with our students. Our aim is to encourage them to think, to participate and to develop their intellect. Languages are all about communication, and listening and discussing should go beyond the classroom. Films are a great way into another culture!