Withington’s Lower Fourth impressed Young Enterprise judges with their polished language skills and great teamwork when they visited the School for this year’s ‘Foreign Language at Work’ Day.

The masterclass, held on 15th June, saw twelve teams bidding for the winner’s title as they were tasked with organising a two-day conference for 150 delegates; 75 being international and 75 British. The brief included finding a suitable venue, booking equipment, designing invitations, planning menus, preparing itineraries and creating delegate packs – but the additional challenge the girls faced was that the project was undertaken in a foreign language.

Depending on their personal preferences, the girls were able to opt for Spanish, German or French – and all the teams earned the admiration of the judges by choosing to make their final presentations at the end of the event in their chosen language. Lower Sixth linguists volunteered to help out for the day and the Nexus 7 tablets, donated last year to the Geography department by the School’s Enhancing Opportunities Fund, were a helpful resource for the girls in carrying out their research.

Head of Careers, Mrs Nicki Cottam, commented: “ The Enterprise Day provides our girls with a valuable insight into problemsolving in the work environment rather than the structure of the classroom. It enables them to learn to work as a team whilst playing to their own strengths and it really helps them to learn to work to pressure and tight timescales. It provides an insight into careers in marketing or events planning, and of course is a great opportunity for all involved to practise their language skills.” She added:

“ The judges were very impressed with their linguistic skills and just how much they managed to achieve in a single day, pulling together so well to produce excellent results.”