Miss Relton takes a French after-school club for Year 6 pupils in Trafford, Greater Manchester. This year, with help from Stretford high, a newly-designated language college, language learning has spread into the timetable.

Miss Relton said: “In Year 5 the pupils study France as part of geography, so our link teacher from Stretford high, Lorraine Flinn, taught some French to the class as well. We also had a French student teacher who was at Manchester Metropolitan University, coming in for the three weeks before Christmas. Initially he was to work with Year 5, but he ended up teaching classes throughout key stage 2.”

After half-term, a Spanish teacher from the high school will give lessons to Year 3 children for half an hour a week. But the biggest challenge is finding time. Miss Relton is now drawing up a list of “ten-minute lessons“in French, such as learning numbers, to slot into the teaching day.