We had a wonderful time celebrating World Book Day in the Languages department!

Year 8 French students created their own calligramme poems inspired by the French-Polish artist, poet, novelist and playwright Guillaume Apollinaire (1880–1918). Writing in French, students described themselves, their friends and families, or their favourite activities using creative shapes, just like the famous poet himself.

Elsewhere, Year 7 students explored literature from across the francophone and Spanish-speaking worlds. They read the fable La liebre y la tortuga in Spanish and learned a poem by the Senegalese poet and politician Léopold Sédar Senghor (1906–2001) in French.

Year 8 Spanish students discovered Mafalda, the much-loved comic character from Argentina created in the 1960s, who remains a popular and internationally recognised figure today.

Meanwhile, Year 9 French students studied the Petit Nicolas book series by Sempé and Goscinny, which became hugely popular in the 1960s and has since been adapted into films and television series. Year 9 Spanish students also explored the world-famous Don Quijote de la Mancha by Miguel de Cervantes, often described as the Spanish equivalent of Shakespeare.

It was fantastic to see students engaging with literature from across the French- and Spanish-speaking worlds while celebrating the joy of reading on World Book Day!