House Polyglot: A Multilingual Celebration of Poetry and Culture

There was an incredible turnout at this year’s Polyglot competition on Monday 2nd October! The Polyglot competition is the fusion created by the English and Modern Foreign Languages Departments where students create poems containing at least three foreign languages. Each House team that took part represented every year group within Leighton Park and even some of our dedicated staff members eagerly joined the competition, proudly representing their respective Houses. 

 Inspired by National Poetry Day 2023, the theme for the Polyglot competition was ‘Refuge’. The theme offered students a platform to craft poems that resonated with compassion, with the added dimension of expressing their messages in multiple languages, captivating the listener. Four staff judges immersed themselves in the words of poetry, as well as all the students who attended to watch the group efforts and support their Houses. 

 Matt Taylor, Head of English, and Anna Murgett, Head of Modern Foreign Language, shared their insights into why Polyglot holds such significance, both as participants and spectators.  Matt Taylor emphasised Leighton Park’s international nature and diverse community, stating: “Being an international school, there are so many students who have different first languages other than English and it is so important that we value their native language and culture as well as local students seeing the value in other languages”. Anna echoed these sentiments, adding: “We want all students to feel valued. The richness of people being able to speak more than one language is an incredible asset for anybody”. 

 The competition also included solo entries on behalf of each House, which will be judged, allowing further points to be added to the Houses. The anticipation is building as we await the announcement of the winning House on Monday 9th October. We wish the best of luck to all our Houses and commend everyone on their involvement.