Tuesday 14 May 2013 With French fever building in Yorkshire ahead of next year’s ‘Grand Départ’, primary pupils from across Leeds and Wharfedale enjoyed the chance to immerse themselves in French language, culture and cuisine for a day. The young Francophiles, dressed in the red, white and blue of the French tricolour, gathered at The Grammar School at Leeds (GSAL), where the day started with croissants and ended with crêpes. In between, the children took part enthusiastically in some of the songs, dances and playground games that French children might enjoy and designed traditional lily of the valley greeting cards for the Fête du Muguet, the French May Day holiday. The pièce de résistance was a performance by Flying Theatre Company of the play ‘Bon Voyage’, performed all in French to keep the children entertained and engaged en route. Joining GSAL Junior’s year 5 pupils for the day were pupils from seven local schools – Sacred Heart Catholic Primary, Ilkley; St Joseph’s Catholic Primary School, Pudsey; Askwith Community Primary School, Otley; St Oswald’s C of E Junior School, Guiseley; Little London Community Primary School, Leeds; Allerton CE Primary School, Leeds; Gledhow Primary School, Leeds. The activities were led by Ilkley-based languages consultant Catherine Cheater and language teachers and assistants from GSAL, assisted by a team of sixth form students. Helen Miller, French teacher at Sacred Heart, said: “It’s a wonderful opportunity for our pupils to meet native French speakers and enjoy an introduction to French culture. A fun day like this will enthuse them about language learning.” Year 5 pupil James, from Sacred Heart, said: “It’s important to learn another language; if you are fluent you could live in another country. Coming here today and hearing people speak French makes me want to learn it even more.” The day was organised by Vicky Cooke, Junior School French teacher, and Esther Saurel, Senior School head of French. Esther said: “Today is the first of what we hope will become an annual French Day. It’s about taking the fear out of learning languages and making the children realise they can play and sing without necessarily understanding everything. We’ve tried to make it as real as possible, show them what French children really do and encourage local primary schools to engage in teaching French.” General Primary Sixth Form News
