EGA celebrates European Day of Languages
42 different languages and cultures were on offer at
Elizabeth Garrett Anderson Language College (EGA) on Monday 26 September –
the European Day of Languages, which is celebrated across Europe.
Pupils at the school entered into the spirit of the day: putting up colourful
banners and flags, dressing up in national costumes, preparing food from
different countries and offering coaching in 42 languages, from Albanian to
Yoruba. Students at EGA speak a total of 60 different languages, and the
school has specialist status for teaching languages.
Mayor Jonathan Dearth joined in the event wholeheartedly, receiving coaching
in several languages, including Bengali, Somali, and Kurdish.
The entire school takes part in the event, and 300 visitors from the community
came to see what learning opportunities were on offer. EGA started the
initiative in 2001, and this was the 5th year that the European Day of
Languages has been celebrated.
Every year a prize is awarded to the best stand; this year it was awarded to
the stand teaching Amharic – a language spoken in Eritrea - for originality,
cultural representation and best teaching materials. 13-year-old Jahkeeta
Innis, and 14-year-old Charmodene Dunkley put the winning stand together.
Bill Clark, Director of Schools’ Services, CEA@Islington said: ‘EGA is an
excellent school, and this event demonstrates some of the fantastic work being
done to celebrate the diversity and rich cultural heritage of the school
community.’
For more information, please contact CEA@Islington's Communications Department: