Devon County Council

From David Hutchings, Exeter 382594, November 17, 2008

SIX PUPILS at a Devon primary are the first in the county to qualify as Young Interpreters so they can welcome children from other countries to their school.

The Young Interpreters will be officially recognised at a ceremony at their school, the Beacon Primary in Exmouth, next week (Nov 24).

They have completed a course run by Devon County Council's English as an Additional Language service and the EAL coordinator at The Beacon, Di Devin, which gives them the skills they need to welcome new bilingual children and their families to the school.

Some of the children do not speak a second language but have learned how to use gestures and visuals to communicate with other children who are new to English.

The six children and their languages are Alisha Burns, English,

Bartek Nelkowski, Polish and English, Natalya Plachecka, Polish and English, Angela Roxas, Tagalog and English, Helenna Walsh, English and Martyn Zorys, Lithuanian and English.

Kate O'Neill from Devon's EAL service said: "The children were chosen because of their ability to be empathetic, caring and responsible towards others, as well as having good communication skills and being good role models.

"It was a great honour to be selected and all the children were keen to be involved. We hope this will help all the children in the school to view bilingualism more positively.

Di Devon said: "Becoming a young interpreter has helped the bilingual children feel proud of their skills and their culture and it's something very practical and necessary for schools who have increasing amounts of children with English as an additional language but which cannot communicate their welcome.

"The new Young Interpreters will now be able to buddy and support new bilingual children and interpret for new bilingual families when they first arrive at the school."

The Young Interpreters themselves are really keen to get on with their new jobs.

Alisha Burns said: "I feel very excited about being selected and can't wait to do it."

Helenna Walsh said: "I am looking forward to looking after any new children, especially those who don't speak any English. I like being helpful. I'm really proud that I was chosen."

Bartek Nelkowski said: "I'm very excited and glad to be able to help other children."

And Angela Roxas said:"I want to help children from other countries.  It's really important because I know how it feels to come to another country."

Devon County Council's deputy leader John Smith, who's lead councillor for children's services, welcomed the new project.

"This is a new service we are providing for schools through Devon County Council and one that is increasingly necessary as we welcome more families to our schools from across the world," he said.

"It is easy for new children with English as a second language to feel lost or alone in a new school where they don't understand the language -despite the best efforts of the staff and their classmates.

"This is an excellent project which I hope other Devon schools will take up."

NOTE TO NEWS EDS: Reporters and photographers are welcome at the presentation on November 26 at 9am at the Beacon Primary School in Exmouth. For further information contact Kate O'Neill on 07792340224.

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