Activities for Schools

This initiative offers free Taster Sessions for Schools including Arabic, Catalan, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Ukrainian, Comparative Literature, Interpreting, Linguistics, Translation and subtitling.

Bookings for taster sessions available in school via this link: Leeds City of Languages Language Tasters

Leeds is a city of many voices. Around 170 languages are spoken across the city and we want young people to help us celebrate them.

Children and young people are invited to create a small decorated tile showing what Leeds means to them and the different ways they say “hello” in the languages they speak, hear or use at home, at school and in their communities.

The finished tiles will be brought together to form the word LEEDS, creating a collective artwork celebrating the languages and people of our city. The artwork will be displayed during the Leeds City of Languages Festival as part of Leeds400.

To register and receive your free tiles complete this form and return to [email protected] by 19th of October 2026. More info and form attached.

Project - info and Instructions

Project - Registration Form

Mother Tongue Other Tongue is a multi-lingual poetry project, created as a Laureate Education Project by Professor Carol Ann Duffy DBE (UK Poet Laureate 2009-2019) to celebrate cultural diversity and the many languages spoken in schools across the UK. This initiative originally began running in the North West, coordinated by the Manchester Poetry Library at Manchester Met University.

After a successful launch of the competition in Leeds as part of Leeds Languages Week 2024, we are delighted to announce that we will be running the competition again this year, giving even more students the opportunity to celebrate languages and share their creativity through poetry.

We welcome submissions from students aged 8-18, with the deadline for entry Friday 23rd October 2026.

Schools can submit up to 6 entries per competition (i.e. up to 6 Mother Tongue entries, and up to 6 Other Tongue entries).
Full details of each competition can be viewed on the competitions page.

Unleash the power of language and creativity - the Anthea Bell Prize for Young Translators, presented by Queen’s College’s Translation Exchange, invites students aged 11–18 across the UK to reimagine literary texts through translation. Free to enter, the Prize offers contests in French (into English and Welsh), German, Italian, Mandarin, Russian, and Spanish - and equips teachers with free, high-quality teaching resources to spark passion for multilingualism in the classroom.
This competition honours the legacy of Anthea Bell, celebrates linguistic excellence, and seeks to inspire the next generation of translators. Enter now and give your students the chance to shine on a national stage! 

For more information: Anthea Bell Prize for Young Translators - The Queen's College, Oxford 

The National Spelling Bee continues for Year 7s (French, German and Spanish)!

There are 4 stages with 50/100 words to learn at each stage (300 altogether). Following latest SLA research - a fun, motivating way of getting your Year 7s to learn all that vocab they need to know.  For more information visit the website: National Spelling Bee Competition or contact Sarah Schechter on [email protected] for more information.

The International School Award recognises schools that embed global awareness and international learning at the heart of their curriculum and school culture. Whether you’re just beginning to build international connections or already running collaborative projects across borders, there’s a level of the award to suit your stage: from Foundation through Intermediate to Accreditation (and re-accreditation) levels. To apply, schools submit their details via the British Council’s online platform, setting out an Action Plan of international and curriculum-based activities, then at the end of the school year provide an Impact Evaluation showing how those plans have influenced students, teachers and the broader school community. Benefits include a certificate, media support, expert feedback, and for advanced levels a logo and accreditation valid for three years. We encourage all schools wanting to strengthen their global dimension to apply—start planning your international projects now and join the community of schools building a more globally connected education. 

For information see here.  

The Stephen Spender Trust is inspired by the cultural activism of Stephen Spender, poet and champion of international literature.  On their website you can find a range of initiatives that celebrate multilingualism and literary translation.  For access to their resources, please visit:

Stephen Spender Trust – Multilingual Poetry and Storytelling

Exploring & Celebrating African Languages’ is a series of self-led interactive in-class presentations that celebrate and explore 4 African languages spoken by communities in the North East and globally. The languages chosen do not represent all of the major African languages.

By taking part, the children and young people will:
- Learn about North, South, East & West African countries & their geography.
- Gain an understanding of the North, South, East & West African people, their history, & culture.
- Gain an appreciation of the diversity of African cultures and recognise the importance of cultural preservation.

In the activity pack is included:

• African Languages Guidebook
• North Africa Google Slides, with 4 activities to complete
• East Africa Google Slides, with 4 activities to complete
• West Africa Google Slides, with 4 activities to complete
• South Africa Google Slides, with 4 activities to complete.
• Summary Google Slides (Africa, the continent and North, East, West and South Africa)

All slides come with speaker notes attached. Each presentation takes approximately 45 minutes, including time for the activities.

We recommend you do these in the space of 4 individual lessons. If you would like to complete this in 1 lesson, we suggest that you use our Summary Google Slides.

Please email Caroline or Ulfet from the Language Collaboration Project at [email protected] to request a pack.

Check the National Consortium for Languages Education (NCLE) webpage where you can find the LEO resources.

Joe Dale's AI tools menu for MFL and cross-curricular teaching resources:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1WYfMT7ORkYWgTel-q7L6ftBJeAF3XWw5cq-kz6MGC6k/edit?usp=sharing

The Linguistics in MFL project is making the case for linguistics in school-based language teaching. The team have co-created a number of resources with experienced teachers, which you can access here: Linguistics in MFL Project.