Inspiration and Education at the All MFL Fest

What an enriching time we had at yesterday’s inaugural All MFL Festival - a festival of all languages for Year 12 students, together with A-level linguists from some our partnership schools, including St Joseph’s College, Charter North Dulwich, Kingsdale, Trinity and JAGS.

This inaugural event was designed with the chief purpose of bringing together young linguists from schools across south east London to celebrate the value of language learning and to highlight the rich opportunities that multilingualism can offer. Our six brilliant speakers, including three alumni (Lizi Vineall – Browns 2018; Chris Peilow – Brown’s 2008; Rachel Hajek – Spurgeon’s 2008), two guest speakers and our very own Senior Deputy Head, Mr. Skinnard, delivered dynamic and thought-provoking presentations on a diverse range of topics, from art, literature and music to journalism and sport.

The aim of the event was for pupils from Alleyn’s and other local schools to learn about different pathways and opportunities to take their language studies beyond school. Pupils heard from the panel of speakers on their experiences and pathways – giving insight into the different worlds of languages, inspiring and educating those listening in with their stories and anecdotes.  

Thanks to Ms. Goff and the Alleyn’s MFL Department for organising the occasion, to our visiting schools for coming along, and to our wonderful speakers who sparked inspiration and curiosity throughout the afternoon. 

Explore the speaker bios below.

Lizi Vineall (Brown's 2018) read German and Linguistics at Oxford, studying one year of a Bachelor’s in Voice in Munich for her year abroad. She spent 6 months as a project assistant at the Goethe-Institute in London, before her current role as the music administrator at JAGS Prep, whilst pursuing a soprano career on the side. 

Rachel Hajek (Spurgeon's 2008) read Spanish and Russian at University of Bristol and is also bilingual English/Czech.  After her undergraduate degree, Rachel completed an MA in History of Art, specialising in Russian art. She is now a curator at the Design Museum.  

Chris Peilow (Brown's 2008) attended Alleyn’s School, achieving A Levels in Spanish and French (A). He studied History and Hispanic Studies at Nottingham, followed by Journalism at Cardiff and he is now an Emmy award-winning Executive Producer at Noah Media Group. Chris has years of international experience in television and film, with an extensive background in sport, having previously worked for companies such as IMG Media, BeIN Sports, HBS, UEFA and Paris Saint-Germain Football Club.  

Rob Knell. Following a degree in French and Linguistics at London University, Rob continued his studies at the universities of Clermont-Ferrand and Nice (France), before completing a PGCE at Oxford. Rob’s teaching career started in a lycée in Clermont-Ferrand, then at the University of Nice (simultaneous translation), before jobs in both the state and independent sectors in the UK.  

Rob has a keen interest in 20th century French existentialist literature, the 1954-1962 Franco-Algerian, and French grammar, and writes poetry in French. He has been an examiner at A Level and GCSE and, since leaving his role as a Head of French, he has set up ЯK Language Services, working as a translator for the Premier League (football). He has been appointed as Team Leader in the Media/Press centre (Olympic Village) at the Paris Olympics. He has also started writing a novel.  

Steve Allison was raised in Leamington Spa and achieved A Levels in Spanish, English and PE. He went to Durham University where he read Spanish with Philosophy and Politics.  

He spent a year of his degree in Madrid, where he taught in a primary school and watched lots of football! As such, his talk is entitled ‘History, Politics and Culture: what we can learn from Spanish football’. In his presentation, Steve covered some of the many things that we can learn about Spain and its people through knowing about football. He now works as the Head of Languages at Trinity School in Croydon.  

Our very own Andy Skinnard went to school in Plymouth and studied Latin, Music and RS at A-level before going to Oxford University to read Theology and then beginning his career teaching RS.  

In 2000, Andy moved to Sevenoaks School, where he ran the Philosophy Department and joined the International Baccalaureate Philosophy programme curriculum and examining teams for the Diploma. One book that has been examined in the IB programme is The Second Sex, by one of the most prominent female writers – let alone philosophers – of all time, Simone de Beauvoir.  

Andy explored some of the ideas that Simone raised in this seminal work, along with asking what we might think de Beauvoir would say in the current debate around gender. Andy is stepping down from being Senior Deputy Head of Alleyn’s School at the end of this term and we were thrilled to get him in for one of his final talks whilst at the helm.