Prince Henry’s was the first Leeds high school to achieve Language College status in 1999. This means that our students enjoy unique opportunities in terms of learning languages and experiencing other cultures. As well as building upon the language they started learning at primary school (French or Spanish), all students take up German as a second language, and even follow a short course in Mandarin Chinese. There are also options to study other languages, such as Italian in Years 12 and 13. Such privileged access to language-learning will ensure that they are exceptionally well prepared for the world of work in a global economy, and for life in the global community.

At Prince Henry’s, being a Specialist Language College is about much more than learning foreign languages, however. It is about putting internationalism at the heart of everything we do. We want our young people to appreciate what makes the world such a rich and varied place, and we have established a national reputation for our work on diversity and global citizenship. We are regularly asked to share our practice at regional and national conferences, and our work has been featured in three programmes for Teachers TV.

We were delighted to become the first high school in Leeds to achieve the British Council’s prestigious International Schools Award, and the first in the entire country to receive the top level of the Global Schools Award.

The benefits of our Language College ethos go far beyond the impact it has on our own students and staff. Each year we support language learning in the local community, including teaching in local primary schools, working with the Leeds Community Mandarin Chinese School and running our own, highly successful Community Education Programme.

For more information about the work of our Language College please contact Christopher Lillington, Assistant Headteacher and Language College Director, on the info@princehenrys.co.uk email address.