School teaching 40 languages

A primary school in Redbridge, east London, is celebrating its ethnic diversity by teaching its pupils more than 40 different languages.

Between the 850 pupils at Newbury Park Primary School 40 languages are spoken. and each month children learn phrases in one selected language.

Languages spoken include Swahili, Tamil and Nepali.

As well as boosting pupils’ language skills and knowledge of other cultures, the scheme has attracted international interest, with visits from Finnish and Danish schools and a twinning project with a school in Barcelona.