Some of our Year 9 students attended a Language Conference at Berkhamsted School. There were a number of speakers in attendance from within the fields of business and academia, as well as former Berkhamsted pupils who are currently using their languages either at University or beyond. Students heard from speakers who had lived and worked in France, China, Spain and Russia and who are working in marketing, finance, performance and education. After the conference, students did some A level bridging work to test their Spanish skills and went on to do a scavenger hunt following Spanish instructions around the town of Berkhamsted to find various sites of interest.

Students were really positive about their experiences (some of which you can read below) and had a fantastic day:

Aprendí mucho en el viaje al instituto de Berkhamsted. The conference was informative and interesting, where people explained how languages had affected their lives. It was inspirational. The scavenger hunt was especially fun! Malakaai, 9 Holborn

The visit to Berkhamsted School was outstanding. Throughout the duration of the language conference, I had learnt about the various paths in which languages can take you and how I can use them to my advantage in the future. In the old hall, we partook in a range of A Level bridging activities that broadened our knowledge of Spanish, challenging ourselves to new vocabulary. Furthermore, the scavenger hunt was extremely adventurous and in our groups, we had to use our own initiative to take on the instructions that we were given. Overall, I really enjoyed this trip and was grateful for all the new experiences I was opened up to! Olivia-Jo, 9 Ludgate

During the trip, I learnt a lot of new things about languages and how to use them in careers that I may choose to do. when listening to the conference, I enjoyed hearing people's testimonies and what they learned when they were in university and school. also, I found out how some people who went to Berkhamsted went into the working world and used their knowledge of languages in their career. I also found the A Level task interesting as I got to learn how Spanish culture is learnt about more than just the language. The scavenger hunt was also fun as we got to collaborate together and work our way around the town by translating Spanish. Charlie, 9 Walbrook

I really enjoyed the trip to Berkhamsted school, I found the language conference really interesting and inspirational and also loved taking part in the Spanish scavenger hunt. We worked in groups to translate a range of directions and followed them around the village, finding a variety of places like, castles, churches and more. The A Level bridging work was also really interesting and I enjoyed working in groups to complete a variety of challenging tasks and activities. Olivia, 9 Ludgate

The trip to Berkhamsted was a wonderful experience. The conference was informative and engaging, as well as detailed and very helpful. The activities helped us get a larger view of what it means to be fluent in a language, such as Spanish, and the work it requires to achieve. But the conference allowed us to also see the usefulness of knowing another language and how it can impact your life. There was also a lot of activities requiring collaboration which not only allowed us to put our linguistic skills into practice but also our social ones. The school was very welcoming and, overall, I wish I could relive the whole day again. Elisa, 9 Strand