We held a European sport week in which the languages, music, English and PE departments worked together. Pupils represented different countries (Germany, Italy, Spain or France) and teams participated in football, netball and badminton.
In each sport, pupils stood in silence under their country’s flag, listening to each national anthem and then acknowledging it with applause and good wishes to their opponents in their countries’ languages.
In music, pupils learnt to play their national anthem and so all the children recognised the four anthems.
In English,they wrote match reports and the results were published in an Olympic-style medals table.
By the end of the week, each pupil knew many new phrases, recognised four European flags and anthems and understood how one theme can link a whole school.
Head of boys PE, St Clere’s Language College, Stanford-le-Hope, Essex
