Celebrating Languages in Portsmouth Week

We are excited to announce Portsmouth’s first-ever Celebrating Languages in Portsmouth week and would love as many schools as possible in the city to participate. This special week will take place from Monday 17 to Friday 21 March 2025, aligning with the University of Portsmouth’s Global Week. It will be a fantastic opportunity to celebrate the wealth of languages and cultures that enrich the lives of so many of our learners.

As this is a pioneering event, we encourage schools and all education settings to participate to the extent they are able. A shared Google Drive has been established, where colleagues can upload and exchange ideas, creating a directory of activities that can be used both this year and in future celebrations.

To spark initial ideas, consider having older students greet pupils in their first language at the start of the day, or try incorporating recipes from around the world with students explaining their significance, names, and ingredients in their own language. For those who wish to take it further, why not host a dedicated celebration day or plan rotating activities throughout the week?

Whatever your level of involvement, we invite all of our education settings to join us in this celebration and to reflect on how it could grow in the coming years to truly honour the vibrant tapestry of languages and backgrounds we are privileged to have in Portsmouth.

More information will follow shortly, outlining details of what we hope will be a wonderful opportunity to recognise and celebrate the richly diverse languages heritage of our learners.

Please get in touch at [email protected] if you would like to be more actively involved or have exciting ideas to share.

How your school can get involved:

Friendship competition: young people in Portsmouth are invited to create something which represents friendship to them. It could be a poster, a cartoon, a video, an audio file or a piece of poetry and should include the word for friend or friendship in a language of their choice, perhaps their home language or a language they are learning at school or independently.

The closing date for entries is midday on Friday 7 March 2025.

Celebrate Speaking (with NCLE, the British Council and ALL): Each February a festival of language is held when your students can show off their language skills. This can be a language they are learning at school or one they speak in their community. It’s about sharing a love of language and celebrating the diversity of people in the UK who speak a language other than English.