Double Club visit to Brussels

5 November 2008

Lucky London Students Visit Belgian Capital to Improve Language and Football Skills

30 Secondary Pupils from Across London Take a European Trip with a Difference

Secondary School Pupils from Hackney Free, Highbury Fields and Lambeth Academy who learn languages through the innovative Arsenal Double Club are preparing to take a trip with a difference from 6 November - 10 November. The 30 kids and their teachers will be given the chance to visit Brussels over the weekend to experience at first-hand a foreign language environment. The lucky youngsters were selected from hundreds of pupils who have participated in the 8-week after-school language learning module, in recognition of their hard work and results.

The trip is funded by the European Commission, one of Arsenal's partners in the scheme. The timetable will reflect elements of the Arsenal Double Club initiative which teaches a wide variety of subjects, including modern foreign languages, through the medium of football, using Arsenal resources and information on players to help teach numbers, countries, nationalities for example.

Whilst in Brussels pupils will enjoy a day in a local school, St Niklaas, and shadow pupils during classes to appreciate some of the differences between school-life across the Channel and what they know here in the UK. The youngsters will then take part in a mini-tournament with children from the Belgian school. They will also have the opportunity to watch Anderlecht play at the Constant Vanden Stock Stadium and will go sightseeing in the Capital, including a special behind-the-scenes trip to the European Commission and Parliament to meet interpreters, London MEP Robert Evans and European Commissioner for Multi-Lingualism Leonard Orban.

Julie Stoker, Arsenal's Double Club Languages Consultant said: "We're delighted to accept this wonderful invitation from the European Commission. This trip is a chance for the youngsters to experience another European culture and put language learning into context. It will bring home to them just what possibilities are open to you when you learn a foreign language. We're all looking forward to this trip and coming from Arsenal, we're especially pleased with its strong footballing element!"

European Multilingualism Commissioner Leonard Orban said: "Languages are a key part of understanding each other, and I was very impressed by the work of the Double Club when I visited earlier this year. I hope the young people concerned will have a very informative and enjoyable weekend in Brussels and that all other Double-Clubbers will continue to take an active part in the Double Club and language learning."

Robert Evans MEP, who represents London in the European Parliament and is hosting the group at the EP's Brussels building said: "It's a pleasure to welcome these young people to the European Parliament. I hope that by showing them daily life in a multilingual environment they will get a feeling for how useful learning a language can be in the real world. "

For further information on the Arsenal Double Club, please contact Ross McKinley via email: rmckinley@arsenal.co.uk

For further information on the Arsenal Double Club MFL modules, please contact Julie Stoker via email: jstoker@arsenal.co.uk

For further information on Arsenal in the Community, please contact: klaurens@arsenal.co.uk or call 020 7704 4019

Robert Evans MEP can be contacted on 0208 890 1818 or robertevansmep@yahoo.co.uk

For further information on the European Commission's support to the Double Club, contact Antonia.Mochan@ec.europa.eu or call 020 7973 1946. Audiovisual material relating to the trip will be available during the weekend at: http://ec.europa.eu/avservices/home/index_en.cfm

Notes to editor:

For over 20 years, Arsenal in the Community has developed a range of sport, health, education and training and social inclusion projects which contribute to the lives of the local community and beyond.

In November 2008, Arsenal in the Community will launch the Arsenal MFL Double Club for Primary Schools.

Schools that take part in the Double Club are based in the capital, but also throughout the South-East and further afield, such as Cumbria and Wales.

Secondary Schools that have completed/signed up to the Double Club Language programmes (Years 8, 9 and 10)

French: 29 Double clubs/715 pupils

German: 27 Double clubs /623 pupils

Spanish: 24 Double clubs/ 483 pupils

TOTAL: 80 Double clubs/1860 pupils

Primary schools that have signed up so far:

French: 6 schools for Autumn 08/Spring 09

German: 5 schools for Spring 09

TOTAL: 11 schools

Arsenal Double Club Partners on foreign languages:

The European Commission, the Institut Français, The Goethe Institute, The UK-German Connection (The Voyage) and the Consejería de Educación of the Spanish Embassy.