Languages for the Future: Exploring the incredible opportunities that language learning can offer
Senior School, Alumnae, Languages, Global Citizens
The Languages Department at Royal High recently hosted an exciting and engaging Languages for the Future conference, which brought together current students and distinguished alumnae to explore the incredible opportunities that language learning can offer.
The event featured four former students who shared their experiences of studying languages beyond school and how these skills have shaped their careers. The conference was a fantastic opportunity for students from Years 7-13 to gain insights into the real-world value of multilingualism.
One of our guest speakers, Abbi Scarr (Class of 2014), travelled from London, where she currently works as an Associate at Promontory, a business unit of IBM Consulting. After school, Abbi studied Spanish with Italian at Exeter University, completing two internships in Madrid during her year abroad. She then pursued an MA in Translation and Professional Language Skills at the University of Bath. Abbi has had an impressive career, having worked with Deloitte in their Corporate Intelligence Services team, specialising in Spanish and Italian-speaking jurisdictions, before moving on to a role as a Financial Investigator at the National Crime Agency.
Joining us virtually from Santiago, Chile, Phoebe Aisher (Class of 2021) shared her experiences of working for a consultancy firm as part of her year abroad. While at Royal High, she studied languages at Higher Level as part of the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme (IB) before going on to study Modern Languages and Cultures at Durham University.
Annabelle White (Class of 2021) spoke from Leeds University, where she is in her final year studying French and Spanish. Annabelle reflected on her exciting experiences of spending a year at a French university in Paris and three months in Granada, Spain.
Our alumnae spoke brilliantly about the joys and challenges of learning languages, living abroad, and the professional opportunities their linguistic skills have unlocked. Their inspiring journeys captivated our students, demonstrating how languages open doors to global careers and enriching experiences.
The conference was well-attended, with around 90 students from Years 7-13 eager to learn from our former students. The event was made even more special by our wonderful catering team, who provided a delicious international spread of churros, profiteroles, pretzels, and saffron cake for all to try, a fitting tribute to the global theme of the day.
A huge thank you to our alumnae for taking the time to share their experiences and to everyone involved in organising such an inspiring event. We hope that this conference has encouraged our students to embrace language learning and explore the many opportunities it offers for the future.
