Wheatcroft Languages Day – 22nd September 2026

On 22nd June, 22 of our Language A Level students from Year 12 and 10 representing French, German, Italian, Russian and Spanish volunteered to teach some language to classes 1- 6 at Wheatcroft Primary School during their European Language Day. Our students prepared some lively lessons and delivered them with great confidence and expertise. The organiser of the day at Wheatcroft said it was wonderful to see how inspired the children were by our students, and that the experiences had really helped to bring language learning to life for them. They are already going away discussing how they want to come to Presdales and learn languages! We were very proud of the contribution they made to the day.

Russian

Our Year 12 Russian students recently brought language and culture to life during an engaging visit to Wheatcroft Primary School! Leading an interactive session for Year 5 pupils, our sixth formers delivered an enthusiastic presentation on the history of iconic Matryoshka nesting dolls, alongside fascinating insights into traditional Russian musical instruments and performance styles. The Year 5 pupils got hands-on by decorating their very own Matryoshka dolls, practicing Russian alphabet sounds, and learning to write their names in Cyrillic script. The Wheatcroft students were wonderfully welcoming, thoroughly enjoying the warm, encouraging, and vibrant atmosphere created by our students. Huge congratulations to all involved for representing the school so brilliantly and inspiring the next generation of language learners!

French

Two Year 12 French students taught the French version of Head, shoulders, knees and toes to Year 1 whilst three others introduced good manners in French to order food. Emily, Lucy, Georgia, Laura and Catherine planned the whole lesson very thoroughly and with some engaging PowerPoint presentations and some written resources. They made sure that the language and the progression of the lesson were age appropriate. The Year 1 and the Year 3 classes loved the tasks and it was a thoroughly enjoyable experience for all.

Spanish

Year 12 Spanish students did a great job of teaching the vocabulary for musical instruments in Spanish to Year 1 and different Spanish foods to Year 3 and 4. There were games, some speaking practice, colouring and labelling using new vocabulary, and discussion of differences between countries and cultures, especially in terms of different foods.

German

Year 12 and 13 German A Level students enthusiastically taught Years 4 and 5/6. They began with learning the colours in German and moved on to dancing and singing a well- known Karneval song called the Fliegerlied. There were games and a colour by numbers exercise as well as anagrams of colours to solve and lots of pronunciation practice.

Italian

Year 12 Italian students taught food-related lessons to Year 2 and Year 6 pupils. Year 2 learned ice cream flavours and how to order a ‘gelato’, while Year 6 learned about food more generally and were able to have conversations in Italian about which fruit they like and dislike.

Modern Foreign Languages Spelling Bee 2025

La fête des rois

To celebrate the Epiphany, a number of Year 7 groups found out about the tradition of “la galette des rois” during their French lessons. As many of our students now know, “La galette des rois” is enjoyed by French people on the day of the Epiphany and  a “fève” (a sort of charm/coin) is hidden in it. Whoever gets the slice with the “fève” is crowned King or Queen for the day. The recipe was shared and many Year 7 students have been busy this week creating crowns and making the galette at home. 

The many impressive crowns that Year 7 created to accompany the galettes were fine examples of their creativity.  

 Christel Ainge

Orla Tucker – La galette des rois

Where can languages take you?

On Friday 7th November, we were fortunate to be visited by an ex-student who wanted to return to Presdales to share her experiences of language learning. Since Katie Curtis left Presdales in 2017, she has completed her undergraduate degree in Italian and Spanish from the University of Manchester and a masters’ degree in Madrid.

Katie talked about her year abroad, which she spent studying in Bergamo, northern Italy, before working as a trading assistant in Madrid. She described the highs and lows of her year, including taking the Prince of Libya’s pet chihuahua for walks and cutting off her finger on a tin of tuna all while navigating the challenge of learning the language.

“I attended Katie’s talk on Friday lunchtime, and I was absolutely inspired by her story. I actually reached out to her afterwards to tell her what an amazing job she did. I want to become a language teacher, and it’s so lovely to see other people who are as passionate as I am- it’s great to know that your dreams are achievable and there is always someone with you at every step of the way. I couldn’t have made a better decision than to continue studying languages, and Katie only confirmed that for me.” Sophie, Year 12

“I really did enjoy Katie’s talk last week because I think those of us who are interested in a similar path and spending time abroad, want to hear about life there disregarding school work and how fun the social side would actually be, as that really would be what would make it such a great experience. It was also interesting to hear about where her degree and fluency in Italian and Spanish have taken her in her career to work at Warner Bros!” Willow, Year 11

“It was very inspiring and I found it very eye opening as to what my future could look like if I continue with languages. The path Katie has taken seems like something I would love to do, especially considering the year abroad in a degree in languages as it’s not just work but social and life skills.” Ronnie, Year 11