To celebrate the 2017 European Day of Languages, Arsenal in the Community hosted a special event in partnership with Hertsmere Borough Council for four local primary schools at the Arsenal Training Centre.
Pupils from four Hertsmere schools took part in an inter-school football tournament that was refereed entirely in French. Pupils then moved up to the classroom and tackled a language activity each in German, Spanish and French.
The football tournament and language activities contributed to an overall points table for the day, which was won by The Wroxham School, Potters Bar.
Arsenal in the Community has championed the uptake of modern languages in primary and secondary schools since 2006 through its award-winning project, the Arsenal Double Club, which combines language learning with football.
Project Coordinator, Steve Eadon, said: “We are blessed at Arsenal with a multicultural squad of players in our men’s and women’s teams. This provides role models for pupils in both football and languages. Arsenal Double Club aims to help pupils enjoy learning a language, understand the many benefits that come with having language skills and raise their aspirations to pursue languages in the future.”
Charlotte Stanton, the council's community sports officer said: “As well as celebrating Foreign Language Day, this event kicks off the ninth year of our highly successful community sports partnership with Arsenal Football Club.
“Over the years, thousands of young people in Hertsmere have had the opportunity to enjoy sport and learn new skills through local initiatives, such as Double Club, curriculum football, holiday activities and girls football.
“Each initiative encourages youngsters not only to be healthy and active and make new friends, but also fosters a love of learning and can help make a difference in their academic achievement.”
Copyright 2024 The Arsenal Football Club Limited. Permission to use quotations from this article is granted subject to appropriate credit being given to www.arsenal.com as the source.
