West Midlands

Following the popularity of this conference last June, we are pleased to offer our "Languages in HE" Sixth Form conference again this year. It will take place on 23rd June at University of Birmingham and again on 30th June at Aston University both 10am – 3.30pm with 200 places available on each day.

The conferences are organised by Routes into Languages West Midlands and the aim is to give Sixth Formers a flavour of the opportunities for language learning at HE available to them.

You will find attached below a programme for the conferences and, while session titles are not yet confirmed they will be relevant to the current A-level syllabus. Students will have the chance to hear a presentation detailing the wide range of options for continuing with languages at university followed by a question and answer session with undergraduates studying at all 6 Routes into Languages West Midlands institutions.

For the rest of the day, students then have the freedom to choose which sessions they would like to attend based on their own studies and interests. Session titles will be forwarded and uploaded to our website as soon as they have been confirmed. Again, the sessions will be delivered by staff from all Routes into Languages West Midlands institutions in order to allow students to experience the diversity of different universities locally and to encourage them to research their options thoroughly before completing their UCAS forms. A buffet lunch will be provided during which time there will also be a mini HE Fair with representatives and undergraduates from Routes institutions available to offer advice, answer questions and distribute prospectuses.

You will see from the programme that alongside the student sessions, Links into Languages will provide CPD training for teachers attending with their students. This training is free and is open to all language teachers and will focus on KS5.

Following the popularity of this conference last June, we are pleased to offer our "Languages in HE" Sixth Form conference again this year. It will take place on 23rd June at University of Birmingham and again on 30th June at Aston University both 10am – 3.30pm with 200 places available on each day.

The conferences are organised by Routes into Languages West Midlands and the aim is to give Sixth Formers a flavour of the opportunities for language learning at HE available to them.

You will find attached below a programme for the conferences and, while session titles are not yet confirmed they will be relevant to the current A-level syllabus. Students will have the chance to hear a presentation detailing the wide range of options for continuing with languages at university followed by a question and answer session with undergraduates studying at all 6 Routes into Languages West Midlands institutions.

For the rest of the day, students then have the freedom to choose which sessions they would like to attend based on their own studies and interests. Session titles will be forwarded and uploaded to our website as soon as they have been confirmed. Again, the sessions will be delivered by staff from all Routes into Languages West Midlands institutions in order to allow students to experience the diversity of different universities locally and to encourage them to research their options thoroughly before completing their UCAS forms. A buffet lunch will be provided during which time there will also be a mini HE Fair with representatives and undergraduates from Routes institutions available to offer advice, answer questions and distribute prospectuses.

You will see from the programme that alongside the student sessions, Links into Languages will provide CPD training for teachers attending with their students. This training is free and is open to all language teachers and will focus on KS5.

These 3-day courses are held at the University of Birmingham for gifted and talented Year 9 pupils combining an introduction to each language with an insight into Chinese and Japanese culture.

An afternoon dedicated to all things French (and French speaking!). Students will attend a variety of fun and interactive workshops learning more about the language, culture and traditions in French speaking nations and regions.

This FREE half day event is open to Year 8 students and accompanying MFL staff. The aim of the day is to raise enthusiasm for language learning and raise awareness of the language and culture of French speakers around the world. Alongside this event will be a Links into Languages CPD training for teachers which will be FREE for teachers bringing students to the "Jour de la Francophonie" event - the usual cost for Links into Languages training is £50.

A programme of the day will be uploaded soon. Places will be allocated in November 2009 with an upper limit of 10 pupils per school.

For further information please contact us by email at routes@aston.ac.uk or by telephone on 0121 204 3872.

Please note this event is restricted to schools in the West Midlands consortium only - please check the events page of your local consortium for similar activities.

Following phase 1 of the Languages Work project, this two day residential held at Keele University is for Year 8 pupils and teachers. Pupils will have the chance to experience University life, attend workshops sampling different languages and spend time with current language undergraduates.

Teachers will be able to take part in a variety of training workshops and parents will be invited to attend a celebration evening meal at the end of the event.

For further information please contact us by email at routes@aston.ac.uk or by telephone on 0121 204 3872.

An afternoon dedicated to all things Latino! Students will attend a variety of fun and interactive workshops learning more about the language, culture and traditions in Spanish speaking nations around the world.

This FREE event is open to Year 8 students and accompanying MFL staff. The aim of the day is to raise enthusiasm for language learning and raise awareness of the language and culture of Spanish speakers around the world. Alongside this event will be a Links into Languages CPD training for teachers which will be FREE for teachers bringing students to the "¡Fiesta HIspánica!" event - the usual cost for Links into Languages training is £50.

A programme of the day will be uploaded soon. Places will be allocated in November 2009 with an upper limit of 10 pupils per school.

For further information please contact us by email at routes@aston.ac.uk or by telephone on 0121 204 3872.

Please note this event is restricted to schools in the West Midlands consortium only - please check the events page of your local consortium for similar activities.

This Aimhigher Language Day for Year 8 - Year 11 students focusses on careers with languages. The day will include talks by representatives from local businesses which use languages on a daily basis and a target language marketing exercise using staff and students from University of Wolverhampton.

This event aims to increase motivation for studying languages by raising awareness about how language skills can be used in the real world.

Any queries should be directed to routes@aston.ac.uk or 0121 204 3872.

Please note this activity is restricted to schools in the Black Country area only. Please check the events page of your local consortium for similar activities.

An afternoon dedicated to all things German (and German speaking!). Students will attend a variety of fun and interactive workshops learning more about the language, culture and traditions in Germany and other German speaking nations and regions.

This FREE half day event is open to Year 8 students and accompanying MFL staff. The aim of the day is to raise enthusiasm for language learning and raise awareness of the language and culture of German speakers around the world. Alongside this event will be a Links into Languages CPD training for teachers which will be FREE for teachers bringing students to the "Deutsch International" event - the usual cost for Links into Languages training is £50.

Schools are also invited to take part in our "Design a Display" competition after the event - pupils should return to school and work together to produce a display which shares their experience of the day with their fellow students. Entries will be judged by the Regional Director and prizes include £100 European School Books vouchers, plus prizes for each pupil!

A programme of the day will be uploaded soon. Places will be allocated in November 2009 with an upper limit of 10 pupils per school.

For further information please contact us by email at routes@aston.ac.uk or by telephone on 0121 204 3872.

Please note this event is restricted to schools in the West Midlands consortium only - please check the events page of your local consortium for similar activities.

An afternoon dedicated to all things Chinese! Introducing students to the language, culture and traditions of China through a series of fun and interactive workshops including language, calligraphy, tai chi and more!

This FREE half day event is open to Year 8 students and accompanying MFL staff. The aim of the day is to raise enthusiasm for language learning and to increase awareness of the language and culture of China. Alongside this event will be a Links into Languages CPD training for teachers which will be FREE for teachers bringing students to the Celebrating China event - the usual cost for Links into Languages training is £50.

Schools are also invited to take part in our "Design a Display" competition after the event - pupils should return to school and work together to produce a display which shares their experience of the day with their fellow students. Entries will be judged by the Regional Director and prizes include £100 European School Books vouchers, plus prizes for each pupil!

A programme of the afternoon will be uploaded soon. Places will be allocated in November 2009 with an upper limit of 10 pupils per school.

For further information contact us by email at routes@aston.ac.uk or by telephone on 0121 204 3872.

Please note this event is restricted to schools in the West Midlands consortium only - please check the events page of your local consortium for similar activities.

This event is aimed at pupils in Year 9 and 10 with the aim of increasing their awareness of the value of language skills in the workplace. Pupils will have the chance to meet local employers who use languages in their businesses and will work with teachers, language assistants and native speakers to produce their own short TV advertisement for one of the companies.

The day will encourage pupils to work in teams, develop their transferable skills and consider continuing their language studies.

Please note this event will take place in February 2010, exact date tbc.

For more information please contact us at routes@aston.ac.uk or 0121 204 3872.

Please note this activity is restricted to schools in the West Midlands consortium only. Please check the events page of your local consortium for similar activities.