Bangor University is strengthening its commitment to promoting International Languages across North Wales through a growing school support initiative led by School of Arts, Culture and Language’s Nathalie Thomas and Ruben Chapela-Orri. Working closely with Careers Wales, other stakeholders, and local schools, the project supports teachers, promotes language uptake, and helps departments prepare for the new Curriculum for Wales and GCSE specifications.
The International Languages Project has already worked with a number of secondary schools including Rhyl High School, Maes Garmon, Morgan Llwyd, Dinas Brân, John Bright, Brynhyfryd, Y Creuddyn, Tryfan, Maelor and Y Grango, as well as primary schools in the Holywell cluster and Maes Glas. Support has included curriculum planning, GCSE teaching strategies, departmental development, recruitment strategies for Key Stage 5, and guidance on film and literature components. A series of successful webinars have also been delivered, with the valuable support of university’s Business Link Manager Darren Morley.
The Language Lead at Maes Garmon said: “Nathalie agreed to meet with the department during one of our INSET days to deliver support with planning for the new curriculum and GCSE. The talk was friendly and contained a plethora of ideas, with the offer of practical support which will be of invaluable help to our department. Long may the new initiative continue and be allowed to develop and flourish.”
The Language Lead at Rhyl High said: “To date, it has been really great collaborating with Nathalie. She offers such helpful support, guidance and advice, and she always takes the time to answer my questions. She is incredibly efficient with e-mails and always responds quickly, and she is very efficient at setting up Teams meetings whenever needed too.”
As part of this interdisciplinary initiative, Senior Lecturer in Law, Dr Helen Trouille joined employability talks for Year 8 pupils at Ysgol y Maelor, highlighting the value of languages in future careers.
Schools have praised the International Languages Project as “a breath of fresh air” and “a lifeline” for language departments navigating significant curriculum changes. Teachers highlighted the value of practical advice, rapid support, and renewed confidence in the future of International Languages teaching in Wales.
The impact and ongoing developments from the project have also been shared with the Community Board, helping strengthen collaboration between schools and the University across the region.