Use it or lose it – GDST Languages Festival at Bromley High School

The GDST Languages Festival 2025 was bursting with energy and talent with over 180 students celebrating the vibrancy of language. 

Hosted by Bromley High School, the day was a wonderful celebration of language learning, competition and collaboration. With Year 7 to 9 pupils from Bromley, Sutton, Sydenham, Streatham, Croydon, Portsmouth and Putney taking part, the festival was filled with activities designed to challenge and inspire. From Spelling Bee battles and a multilingual quiz to creative tasks like building famous landmarks with accompanying translations, and even mystery plays performed in French, German, Spanish and Latin, our fantastic students confidently demonstrated their ingenuity, enthusiasm and creativity.  

Headteacher Emily Codling opened the event with heartfelt reflections on the power and importance of language learning, offering students the memorable reminder: “use it or lose it.” 

Many thanks to Caroline Strange, Head of Modern Foreign Languages and her dedicated team at Bromley High for organising dynamic and engaging day enjoyed by all. 

 

(Translated) thoughts from GDST students

J’ai beaucoup aimé passer du temps avec mes amies et apprendre des mots français. C’était vraiment amusant.
I really enjoyed spending time with my friends and learning French words. It was really fun. 

Es war toll – danke. Ich liebe Bromley!
It was great – thank you. I love Bromley! 

Me gustó el quiz porque estuvo excelente y muy divertido.
I liked the quiz because it was excellent and very fun. 

 

Encouraging languages at GDST schools

At GDST, we nurture and encourage our students to learn languages and broaden their minds in a range of subjects and extra curricula activities. The GDST Languages Festival is one of many Trust-wide events that bring together students and staff from across our family of 26 schools. Our students value the opportunity to meet pupils from other schools, work as a team with new people, and grow their interest and passion for life-long learning.

Watch our film below to see girls learning and collaborating at a previous GDST Languages Festival.