On Thursday 15 October, six of our Year 9 students had the fantastic opportunity to visit The Queen’s College, University of Oxford, to attend the celebration event for the “Think Like a Linguist” programme. Since March, they have been participating in this exciting initiative alongside students from four other secondary schools in the Blackpool area.
The programme is a collaboration between language advocates from the Faculty of Medieval and Modern Languages at the University of Oxford, the University of Cambridge, The Queen’s College Translation Exchange (Oxford) and the Stephen Spender Trust. It aims to promote the study of languages at GCSE and beyond, inspiring young people to discover the many benefits and opportunities that learning languages can offer.
The visit to Oxford was an unforgettable experience for our students. They enjoyed a guided tour of the college led by current university students and had lunch in the student dining hall, alongside students living in the college’s halls of residence. They also took part in a beginners’ Russian workshop and had the opportunity to speak to current university students studying languages. The day culminated in a graduation ceremony, complete with academic hats and gowns, to celebrate their achievements throughout the programme.
Our students were fantastic ambassadors for Saint Aidan’s throughout the programme. As well as discovering the benefits of studying languages at GCSE, A-level and beyond, the experience gave them a valuable insight into university life. Most importantly, it helped them to see that studying at a university such as Oxford could be a realistic and exciting possibility for their own futures, should they choose to pursue that ambition.
