Spring 2013 - The Independent Schools' Modern Language ...

British Academy Schools Language Awards2013The British Academy haslaunched the 2013 edition ofits Award scheme, which offers£4,000 for projects promotingexcellence in language learning.This year the focus is onactivity which encourages morestudents to take languagelearning to higher levels – i.e.to A level and through intouniversity. This is because theBritish Academy is concernedabout the increasingly vulnerablestatus of language studyin universities, and a decline inA level take up which particularlyaffects the independentsector. It wishes to encourageschools to find imaginative andeffective ways of improvingtake up and enthusiasm forlanguage learning beyond theage of 16, and of addressingthe social imbalance in the profile of language learners at higher level.The Awards are open to all schools and colleges, and cover all languagesother than English. A total of 15 Awards of £4000 each will be made toschools throughout the UK. Application is via a simple online form, with aclosing date of 31 May 2013.Full information about the Awards including details of last year’s winners andFrequently Asked Questions are available at: www.britac.ac.uk/policy/basla2013.cfmThe Awards are offered as part of the British Academy’s programme to supportand champion the learning of languages. The Academy has spoken outstrongly about the importance of foreign languages not only for life chancesof the students themselves, but for the health of the UK economy and societyas a whole.32