Language of success
The third Grove Language Project took place on Friday 4th November. Organised by Optima Training, the event was held at the Newark Beacon Innovation Centre.
Sixty pupils from Year 8 had worked hard to produce their Language of Success presentations. They were aiming to sell the importance of learning a language. The panel of judges, including Paul Hughes and Gerry Cepelak from the RAF, were impressed by the work that some of the teams had done in such a short space of time (the teams only have four weeks to develop their presentations).
Flying to the rescue
There were some nerves and a few forgotten lines. Flight Sergeant Paul Hughes and Navigator Gerry Cepelak put everyone at ease with some humorous but stark stories about how they have used their language skills to full effect during their careers.
One of the judges, Rose Millington of PrimarySite, said of the students work:
“It was fascinating to see the youngsters approach the project in such varied and creative ways. From wearing costume, to quizzes, from playing videos, to speaking in their foreign language of choice, each group presented their pitch in different ways. One thing I was particularly impressed with was their confidence. Despite a few mistakes, no-one let their nerves get the better of them, and for that alone they should feel very proud.”
The overall winner was Two Translations. The team, which consisted of Rebecca Beeching, Beth Walls, Jade Leo and Rhoda Roberts, had obviously put a lot of effort into their project, creating a brand, mission statement and the T-Shirt.
Two Translations
The winning team, Two Translations, accepting their awards from the panel of judges
The winning team was Two Translations. Their talk was about Polish and aimed at the primary education market. They wanted to see Polish added as a third language to the school curriculum. That would allow local students to communicate with visitors from all three of the towns to which Newark is twinned. Newark is twinned with Emmendingen in Germany, St. Cyr-sur-Loire in France and Sandomierz in Poland.
The judges presented each team member with a plaque from Newark Twining Association. Two Translations will present their winning presentation to over 100 local business people at Newark Business Club on Friday 9th December.
A word of thanks
We would like to thank the following for their generous time and support:
- Rose Millington, PrimarySite Ltd
- Heather Carroll, What’s On 4 Me Nottinghamshire
- Cameron Ford, Newark Business Club
- Rita Crowe, Newark Twinning Association
- Paul Hughes, Flight Sergeant, Royal Air Force
- Gerry Cepelak, Navigator, Royal Air Force
The Newark Beacon Innovation Centre and Newark Twinning Association sponsored the third Grove Language Project. We thank them for the support that made the project possible.