On Friday 26th September, Chapelford Village Primary School was filled with excitement and colour as we celebrated European Day of Languages 2025. This year’s theme, “Languages open hearts and minds”, encouraged our pupils to embrace the rich diversity of languages spoken both in our school and around the world.

To begin the day, each class completed a special language survey to find out which languages are spoken by children in their class. Many pupils shared that they speak more than one language at home, which sparked great conversations and pride in their heritage. The results were presented in charts, graphs or tallies and this fantastic work will soon be displayed on our school website.

Throughout the afternoon, children from EYFS to Year 6 took part in exciting, language-focused lessons and cultural activities. EYFS and Key Stage 1 focused on French, practising simple greetings like “Bonjour” and “merci”, counting in French and decorating flags and paper dolls in French colours and phrases.

In Key Stage 2, each year group explored a different language and culture. Year 3 learnt all about Spanish, including simple vocabulary and traditional playground games. Year 4 focused on Cantonese, with children learning how to write their names in Chinese characters and comparing school life in Hong Kong and England. Year 5 discovered German, researching interesting facts, learning phrases and writing their own fact files. Year 6 explored Polish, practising spoken and written Polish and creating fact files about Poland’s culture, food and geography.

Children who speak these languages at home were proud to share their knowledge with the class. It was a wonderful opportunity for everyone to become a language ambassador, helping others learn something new and developing confidence in speaking about their own cultural backgrounds.

Across the school, children also engaged in a range of cross-curricular activities. They played traditional playground games from other countries, sang songs in different languages, and even answered the register in French, German or Spanish! Some classes also used world maps to explore where their focus language is spoken, and many linked their activities to subjects like geography, PE, music and maths.

The whole day aimed to show children how language learning is not only fun but also an important skill that helps us understand others and become more global citizens. As one Year 5 pupil said, “I didn’t know that so many countries speak German – now I want to visit Austria and Switzerland!” Another child in Year 4 shared, “I loved learning Cantonese – it was hard but fun! My friend helped me say ‘good morning’ the right way.”

The intent of the day was to give children meaningful cultural experiences, promote a love of languages and encourage them to welcome and celebrate differences in the world. Based on the enthusiasm across classrooms and playgrounds, it’s clear this goal was met with great success.

We’d like to thank all our staff and pupils for embracing the theme with such energy and creativity. Don’t forget to check our Facebook page and school website to see photos, videos and examples of the amazing work produced on the day.

At Chapelford, we believe that learning languages really does open hearts and minds and we look forward to continuing this journey together.