Written by Clare Butler, Head of MFL

I was invited by the German Ambassador, Miguel Berger, to a party this afternoon ‘Sommerfest der Deutschen Sprache’ held at the Goethe Institute in London.  This was to celebrate the teaching of German in schools and to highlight it’s importance as a global language.  As part of the event I heard speeches by the Ambassador who talked about challenges faced by language teachers in the UK, by the Dean of Windsor who spoke about his experiences of learning German and how learning languages builds bridges.  There were then performances from children studying German in nearby London schools, and a presentation by Axel Scheffler, the illustrator of The Gruffalo and other books.  It was a great honour to be invited.