Bilingual Primary free school in SE London

[Bouncy]

Hi Peter - yes, I'm aware of CFBT as I've worked with them in the past, so am interested more than generically in what specifically they will contribute in this case. I can't find detail on the parent group on the school website (though maybe I'm missing it?), but you have a very comprehensive Linkedin profile, so that answers my initial question!

[Renata Hamvas]

Hi Peter is this the Judith Kerr Free School?

If not I'd be a bit concerned about saturation as that is in the pipeline and also Haberdashers Aske Temple Grove Free School in Telegraph Hill is due to be English/German Bilingual.

Renata

[fapl]

Renata, yes, this is Judith Kerr Primary School.

[tarafitness]

I think it's a fantastic idea, if I have any more children I'll be only too happy to send them to this new school, I love the idea of them learning a new language from such a young age, it's so much easier when you're young!

Plus, it would give me a good excuse to take up German again :-)

[silkematt]

I can't wait to find out where the school is going to open! Our girl- 20 months is brought up bilingual- me being Austian- Daddy from New Zealand! This would be the perfect place to send her! What a great project! Silke

[James Barber]

Hi silkematt,

You might like to formally support them. Look at their website and join in.

[silkematt]

Have done already! Thank you! s

[cacaolat]

In response to Nylonmeals and Zeban

Why not.

German is one of the major languages in the world with 120 million native speakers.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_language

[barbs1968]

Reading through some of the comments, I am surprised about some of the negative replies.

I think a Bilingual Free School is a great addition to the spectrum. There are simply not enough schools in the first place, let alone ones which provide decent language training from an early age onwards.

German is a good choice; it's definitely not an easy language to learn, but because of its logical structure and grammatical composition, it lends itself to language training. Then there is German culture, which is more than just 'Sauerkraut, Bratwurst und Bier' and definitely long past old stereotypes. Nevertheless, to have the school named after a German born author who had to flee the Nazi Germany is appropriate. It instils a sense of warning, yet goes beyond the past since Judith Kerr is a celebrated children's author, both in the UK and in Germany.

Also, there are plenty of German native and bilingual families living in and around East Dulwich -- whenever I walk through either Peckham Rye Park, Lordship Lane or Dulwich Park, I notice the 'hey, wie gehts Dir'.

Alles Gute und viel Glueck mit dem Projekt!

B.

[zeban]

To be honest having re read my original posts just now I have to apologise. I genuinely now realise how much easier it is learning another language at a young age and what an advantage it puts a person in the unstable and competitive jobs market, and not only this but it builds the confidence to learn more languages in the future, and builds an interest in languages in general which is great and I genuinely wish I'd had such an experience in the younger years-by secondary school ot is simply too late. And yes German why not, any language is better than none and German is very useful of course. I just wish all primary school education would focus on teaching another language, english education really doesn't emphasise it anywhere near enough.

[minder]

barbs1968 - you're right. German is not easy to learn. I chose it at secondary school in the late 70s (as a CSE and passed) and can get by on basic German now. I understand what you are saying at the end of your last post!

Saying that, I'm not very good at the spoken part of it in conversation and this can lead to problems if you don't fit in with everybody. I wouldn't be able to have a long conversation, for example, so I think learning a language from primary school age might be a good idea.