¡Hola! Dunston Hill Pupils embrace Spanish thanks to Kingsmeadow’s support
There’s excitement coursing through Dunston Hill Primary School this week as pupils dive headfirst into the wonderful language of Spanish! Building on the incredible work of their teachers, the school has partnered with Kingsmeadow Community School to bring the vibrant sounds of Spanish to their classrooms.
Each week, skilled Modern Foreign Language teachers from Kingsmeadow visit Dunston Hill to support their colleagues in delivering engaging and effective Spanish lessons. This fantastic collaboration is not only boosting pupil attainment and aspirations, but also providing invaluable professional development for Dunston Hill’s teachers.
Chris Zarraga, Director of Schools North East, said: “We’re delighted by this news. By bringing the world of Spanish to young learners in the region, we are not only equipping them with valuable language skills, but also fostering a lifelong love of learning and cultural understanding.”
Excellent memory and pronunciation
“This is a truly inspiring example of how our schools can work together to broaden horizons and create brighter futures for the North East’s children and young people.”
In their Spanish adventures, pupils are already mastering key vocabulary and grammar. They’re confidently conversing with each other, using phrases like “I have,” “brothers,” and “sisters” to learn about their classmates’ families – all in Spanish!
Mr Turner, Modern Foreign Languages (MFL) Teacher, said: “I was truly amazed by the pupils’ enthusiasm and talent in Spanish. In the weeks leading up to my visit, the pupils had been learning Spanish numbers from 1 to 10 with their class teachers. When I arrived, they impressed me not only with their memory but also with their excellent pronunciation.”
Mr Sutherland, Head Teacher at Dunston Hill Community Primary School, said: “We took the decision to move away from French and begin teaching Spanish after discussions we had with colleagues at Kingsmeadow Community School and, after a term of hard work, have absolutely no regrets.
“Our MFL Lead, Miss Strike, has led two staff meetings to set out our aspirations as a school and look at progress and she, as well as all our staff are absolutely delighted with outcomes. Thanks to their enthusiasm and inspiration, and the invaluable “hands-on” support from Kingsmeadow, the children absolutely love their Spanish lessons and use every opportunity to show off the words and phrases they have learned.
“This is testament to the collaboration between our schools and we are delighted with progress so far.”
Mr Barrett, Kingsmeadow Community School’s Head Teacher, added: “At Kingsmeadow Community School, we are proud of how well we and our local primary schools work together to create opportunities for the children of Gateshead.
“Staff from Kingsmeadow and Dunston Hill have worked hard to make this a rewarding experience for the children. The payback is to see how much the children enjoyed it, how well they embraced the Spanish language and how much they learnt.”
So, ¡Olé! to the teachers at Dunston Hill and Kingsmeadow for bringing the joy of language learning to these young minds.
Kingsmeadow School is a Schools North East Partner School. If you’d like to find out more about our Partner School membership, click here.
We love to hear good news from North East Schools! To share your news with Schools North East, please tag @SchoolsNE on X (formley Twitter) or fill out this short form here.