Education | ED03 | Summer 2016

Sponsored by
Tunbridge Wells
while they are having so much fun.
“A treasure hunt with French
clues and French supper was a recent
evening activity for the boarders.
The children ran a French café at a
recent open morning. Every year,
Théâtre sans Frontières run a workshop
for Upper School children who
join in with the performance.”
There is also a strong department
of language teachers, many for whom
French is their mother tongue. Children
in Years 7 & 8 can also learn Spanish.
In the past there have been trips to
Barcelona, as well as visits to London
to view Spanish art and culture.
Sophie Carnell, Head of Modern
Languages at Saint Ronan’s, near
Hawkhurst, also sees the value of
mastering a language as being well
beyond providing the ability to get
by on holiday. “Surely the focus of
communication is to open up both
speakers’ culture and language,”
she says. “Otherwise it’s merely
a closed-minded monologue.
“At Saint Ronan’s we want children
to be citizens of the world. They need
to understand that people in foreign
countries see things differently. By
examining the ‘other’ way, children can
more easily understand our own peculiar
ways of talking and behaving.” Says
Sophie, “Language is about so much
more than words - if it was just about
words then we probably could get by
with English and Google translate.
“To do this, however, would miss
the joy of transporting a class, for
35 precious minutes a day, to the
banks of the Loire or the harbour of
Marseille, children singing and playing,
acting out parts in a classroom just as
they would in the playground. The
learning is considerable and longlasting
and creates a love of a country
that they might never have visited.
“Languages are keys that unlock
new worlds, they empower and earn
respect,” she says. “Languages are so
much more than a means to business
success or enhanced employment
prospects, they are at the heart of
what real education should be and
they need to be celebrated as such.”
So English may now be the world
lingua franca and one may get by
on most continents but the heart of
the matter is that the ability to order
crêpes with confidence really is largely
irrelevant when it comes to the pros
and cons of learning a language. The
real reason to learn is that it unlocks
another world of which you otherwise
would remain ignorant. No one can
truly understand another culture
unless they understand something
of the language of that culture.
And in a world where understanding
is in woefully short supply, this cannot
but be an excellent thing.
Credit: FreeImages.Com/Johnny Maroun
THE MEAD SCHOOL
Co-educational day school for children ages 3–11
A quality education at an affordable price
Open Day 2016:
Thursday 13 October
10am & 2.15pm
“The pupils are extremely well educated, in line with the school’s aims to encourage all to feel success.”
ISI Report 2014
To arrange a personal tour or to attend our Open Day please contact the Registrar:
Telephone: 01892 525837 Email: office@themeadschool.co.uk
16 Frant Road, Tunbridge Wells, Kent TN2 5SN Website: www.meadschool.info
47 www.wealdentimes.co.uk
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