EAL
International Women's Day EAL event
We had the honour of welcoming Anne-Marie Dias Borges in our school to mark #InternationalWomensDay2025 She addressed students discussing strategies for excelling as a female immigrant in the media sector. Her advice centred on three key principles: persistence, preparation, and personality. The students found her presentation both educational and inspiring! We extend our heartfelt thanks to Ms Dias Borges!
Who is Anne- Marie Dias Borges by https://100women.avancemedia.org/annemariediasborges/
Anne-Marie Dias Borges is a Cape-Verdean journalist who is fluent in French, English, Portuguese and Spanish and has worked extensively in TV and radio over the past 23 years. She worked as a TV Anchor and Producer for BBC Business in London. She currently works as an international moderator.
Driven by an eagerness to connect to a wide range of audiences, Anne-Marie began her career in 2002 at BBC Afrique radio. During her 10 years at this network, she was voted “most popular presenter” on numerous occasions. In Paris, she worked as Chief Information Officer and TV Anchor for Africa24 TV – “The African CNN”! There, she hosted a weekly political TV debate called “Polititia”. The show was watched by millions of viewers each week and as a result, Anne-Marie became a household name in various francophone countries.
She was listed in the second publication of 100 Most Influential African Women in 2020 by Avance Media.
Thank you to Hadassa, Ayda, Rachel, Vera, Emily, Fatou, Sara, Alexa, Daisy, Dishana, Ainhoa, Sumak, Sundus and Lucia for participating in this wonderful event!
Happy Lunar New Year 2025
On Wednesday, 29 January, we celebrated this vibrant occasion at school. Students embraced the
spirit of creativity as they decorated their classrooms and designed their own lucky red envelopes,
embodying hope and new beginnings.
Thank you to the following students who attended and designed these beautiful lucky red envelopes.
Ayda, Vehbi, Eliz, Sevem, Kuzey, Shams, Enzo, Ruby, Jorge, Andres, Mahmoud, Kamaldeen,
Denis, Lara, Shirley, Rachel and Aarohi.
British Education System explained for our Igbo speaking parents- We would like to thank Mr Okey and Mrs Ezeamurunama for their wonderful contribution to our project- Akọwara Sistemụ Agụmakwụkwọ Britain maka nne na nna anyị na-asụ Igbo- Ọ ga-amasị anyị ikele Mr Okey na Oriakụ Ezeamurunama maka ezigbo onyinye ha nyere n'ọrụ anyị
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=crzjmJTxC6c
British Education System explained for our Japanese speaking parents- Thank you to Ms Abdullatif (our parent) for her amazing contribution to our project - 日本語を話す親御さんのためにイギリスの教育制度を説明します。私たちのプロジェクトに素晴らしい貢献をしてくださったアブドゥラティフさん（私たちの保護者）に感謝します。
https://www.loom.com/share/18976dd9426d41ca8e0df02d79ce2aab?sid=8116353f-9022-4a15-8e3f-0729b60108d6
British Education System explained for our French speaking parents- Le système éducatif britannique expliqué à nos parents francophones
https://www.loom.com/share/39ac1077ae7d49e6a5f8f6c02d36fc1c?sid=e0ac8f66-2d6d-4c2d-9098-4ac52fa0a111
British Education System explained for our Turkish speaking parents- Türk velilerimiz için İngiliz Eğitim Sistemi
https://www.loom.com/share/dce74b7a24e441a0ada04568e8ba496a
British Education System for our German speaking parents- Britisches Bildungssystem für unsere deutschsprachigen Eltern
https://www.loom.com/share/e0c26c14ef3a4771bbeabeaf6dc2fc7c
British Education System for our Polish speaking parents- Brytyjski system edukacyjny dla naszych polskojęzycznych rodziców
https://www.loom.com/share/246e7daff2894742b95bf8264de2f4df?sid=79e8816a-9044-4799-ad64-9632ba0b9559
British Education System for our Romanian speaking parents - Sistemul de învățământ britanic pentru părinții noștri vorbitori de română
https://www.loom.com/share/09d07907c5464ddba3af407b1daa5cb7
European Day of Languages Celebrations
Our students participated in European Day of Languages film screening and designing postcards activities to mark the day! Learning new languages while maintaining home languages is an essential part of personal and academic growth for students. It sharpens cognitive skills, nurtures cultural awareness, opens professional doors, and fosters a strong sense of identity. In a world that values diversity and cross-cultural competence, students who are multilingual and proud of their linguistic heritage are well-equipped to navigate the complexities of modern life. By embracing both their native languages and new ones, students can become global citizens with deep connections to their roots, capable of thriving in an interconnected world. Thanks to the following students for their contribution: Ibrahim, Kemarni, Ogie, Nuoh, Beatrice, Katy, Fatou, Teo, Amelia, Filip, Alex, Sara, Sevem, Ayda, Oguz.
Refugee Week June 2024
During Refugee Week in June, we celebrated our School of Sanctuary Award with esteemed guests and students. We are proud to be the first Lewisham secondary school to receive this award. Please read our Pledge here.
A few photos from this special event are below:
EAL Workshop for Lewisham Primary School Teachers
On Wednesday, the 12th of June we ran an EAL workshop for Lewisham Primary School teachers. Participants expressed their appreciation on the feedback forms.
What additional strategies will I implement in school and classes as a result of this session?
ESOL Classes for parents- Multi-lingual display- Refugee Week- International Mother Language Day- Substitute tables- Dual language use; 5 keywords per lesson in a visual dictionary- Online differentiation websites such Diffit and DeepL-Language surveys
What went well during the session?
Learning more about how other schools support their EAL learners- Learning about more resources- Lots of discussion and shared ideas- handouts- slides- lots of ideas about scaffolding
See more on our tweet- https://x.com/PLSEALDep/status/1801000686101954896
COMMUNITY LANGUAGES GCSE EXAMS
Did you know you could take your Community Languages GCSE exams in 19 languages from year 10 onwards in the UK? In PLS we value diversity and inclusion therefore, we are keen to highlight the importance of language learning in multi-national London. We offer students the opportunity to take a language exam they speak at home.
This year we entered 29 students for GCSE exams in their home languages.
These languages are as follows.
| Arabic | French | Italian | Persian | Turkish |
| Bengali | German | Japanese | Panjabi | Urdu |
| Biblical/Modern Hebrew | Greek | Polish | Russian | |
| Chinese | Gujarati | Portuguese | Spanish |
We also offer after-school intervention classes in Turkish, Spanish, French, Italian and Polish.
Contact Mrs Bauhofer, the PLS EAL Coordinator, if your child is literate in any of these languages.
To mark International Women's Day, we visited the wonderful Baroness Meral Hussein-Ece in the House of Lords. We have also met the amazing Baroness Floella Benjamin OBE. Both incredible ladies had a very constructive chat with our students about the importance of women's participation in politics.
To mark International Mother Language Day, Ms Anne-Marie Dias Borges, BBC Africa's senior presenter and journalist, visited our Primary and Secondary Schools to deliver a speech about the importance of maintaining home languages while acquiring new languages. She speaks 4 languages fluently and is currently learning Japanese and Chinese. You can see our tweets about this event here.
You can see a few photos and read our tweet chain about the PLS Refugee Week celebrations here
We thank to members of AFRIL and Lewisham Refugee and Migrant Network for visiting our schools and running a workshop and an assembly in our school.
You can watch the full message from Mark Ruffalo here:
Here is our Refugee Week Presentation
Another year 11 student read a story called The Fool and The Donkey in Persian. Listen below:
Our year 11 student read a story called 'The Bullies' written by Mateen Abdul in Pashto.
Our Year 11 student read a story called The Ant and The Elephant written by Emal Jabarkhalil in Pashto. We used the amazing resources on World Stories website. They are strongly recommended.
Listen to Carnations and Tomato Juice written by Turkish author, Sait Faik Abasıyanık, read by Turkish actor Levent Uzumcu, who permitted us to publish this clip on our YouTube page.
Discover the inspiring story of Semiha Berksoy, Turkey's first female opera singer, through the insightful book written by writer and journalist Özlem Özdemir, who also narrated it.
Listen to Hansel and Gretel in French from our EAL HLTA.
Listen to Magic Porridge Pot in German
Listen to The Boy who cried wolf in Portuguese
The Very Hungary Caterpillar in Polish
Listen to Little Red Riding Hood in French
Take a look at our exclusive interview with Mark Ruffalo, also known as the Hulk. It's our first interview with him.
