International Day of Play and Languages at Berkhamsted Prep

What’s better than one themed day at Prep? Two!

Last Thursday, Berkhamsted Prep celebrated a wonderful (if not very wet) Day of Play alongside a Day of Languages, combining the two into a celebration of culture, collaboration and togetherness.

Prep was alive with different activities to celebrate the Day of Play, and pupils tried their hands at a range of activities focused on building lateral and critical thinking skills. In Year 5, a pringle-loop building competition and a maths scavenger hunt got pupils to work together towards a common goal, while Year 4 and 6 took on a series of team-building activities that required quick communication and collaboration.

“We do team building activities so we can believe in ourselves and encourage each other,” one Year 4 explained.

Play is an essential part of the Prep curriculum, providing children with opportunities to develop key soft skills in creative and engaging ways. Through these experiences, pupils reinforce classroom learning while building confidence, resilience, communication skills and the ability to work effectively as part of a team.

Elsewhere at Prep, celebrations for Day of Languages were in full flow, with opportunities to learn Chinese, French, Greek and Polish!

To begin the day, pupils were visited by Berkhamsted Sixth language students who led an engaging assembly about all of the world’s different languages. The Sixth Formers were shocked to see just how many ways our pupils already knew how to say hello!

“Today, we’re sharing what we love about languages with the Prep School, to inspire them to keep going with their learning,” one Year 12 shared. “We wanted to explain why it’s so important to learn languages, and how it gives you so many skills that you don’t access when you only speak English.”

“It has been really nostalgic for me because I went to the Prep myself,” another student commented. “Now, I’m taking A Level French, and I love the broad perspective of Francophone cultures that it spans.”

Next, it was off to smaller classrooms, where Sixth students led French lessons and Year 9 pupils from Berkhamsted Girls led sessions in Chinese. Prep learnt how to count to ten in Chinese, the fascinating culture of dragon boat racing, and how to make some impressive origami boats.

In Churchill Hall, younger pupils explored the world of Bollywood dance and learned an exciting dance routine with a visiting company. This was a great opportunity to combine both language-learning and play, as our pupils could explore a new culture while also trialling a new dancing style.

Reflecting on Language Day, one Year 4 said, “I like this day because we learn that everyone is different all around the world, and we don’t all need to speak the same language. And we learn that you can have fun while you learn new things.”

This day was a great opportunity for Prep to exercise their curiosity and creativity in a range of ways. Next on the agenda? All of the play activities postponed by Thursday’s rain! There is an International themed BBQ on the cards, as well as opportunities for older years to lead games for the rest of Prep. It’s clear that this is only one part of a very exciting term for our pupils.