International Newcastle

14/07/2026

Get creative with translation this July with the Stephen Spender Prize 2026!

Free entry for all young people and teachers in the UK & Ireland

2 weeks left to submit! – Deadline midnight BST on Friday 31st July

The Stephen Spender Prize is an annual competition for poetry in translation that celebrates the creativity of young people across the UK and Ireland – and their teachers!

The Stephen Spender Prize 2026 poetry translation competition is open for entries by the deadline of 31st July. This is an annual competition to translate…

30/06/2026

Available now – the Report of this year’s Express Yourself: North East Festival of Languages, our sixth annual celebration of the North East’s diverse languages and cultures and our connections to the world for children and young people aged 3-18.
We are grateful to all the pupils, teachers, schools and partners who took part and made this our best Festival yet, with 116,669 children and young people from 464 schools taking part: https://internationalnewcastle.org.uk/festival-report

North East Mayoral Strategic Authority Express Yourself Festival of Languages North East Newcastle City Council School of Modern Languages - Newcastle University Newcastle Music Service

30/06/2026

We are delighted to announce the winners of the German Karneval Mask Competition, which took place between January and March as part of this year’s Express Yourself: North East Festival of Languages:

The competition blended art, language and culture into one engaging experience, with pupils at KS2, 3 and 4 discovering one of Germany’s most colourful and joyful traditions Karneval! Using a teaching resource pack with materials aimed at different age ranges, pupils learned key German vocabulary linked to costumes, masks, music, and celebrations. They designed and decorated their own vibrant carnival masks, labelling parts in German and writing short descriptive sentences. The activity encouraged creativity, cultural curiosity, and confidence in using language in a fun, hands-on way. Prizes awarded for the most imaginative and well-presented mask designs.

We are pleased to see that Newcastle schools did very well in the competition. https://internationalnewcastle.org.uk/karneval-mask-winners

The British-German Association North East Mayoral Strategic Authority Newcastle City Council

We are delighted to announce the winners of the Karneval Mask Competition, which took place between January and March as part of this year’s Express…

30/06/2026

We are delighted to share the Festival multilingual recipe book. In these recipes, pupils from North East schools share their favourite family recipes and why they are important to them, using a language other than English. This project was part of Express Yourself: North East Festival of Languages 2026. Find out more: https://internationalnewcastle.org.uk/world-recipe-book

Northumbria University Reclama North East Mayoral Strategic Authority

We are pleased to share a selection of recipes from pupils from North-East schools, which are a result of a collaboration between the RECLAMA project…

25/06/2026

Celebrate European Day of Languages with the UK schools writing competition and and other resources and activities. Full competition details and links: https://internationalnewcastle.org.uk/edol-2026

Newcastle City Council British Council Schools North East Mayoral Strategic Authority Success4All

On 26 September each year, the EU celebrates the richness of its languages and cultures through the European Day of Languages (EDoL). This is an opportunity…

25/06/2026

It is important that Newcastle schools get involved now in planning for the international opportunities available through the Erasmus+ programme. Find out more and complete our Expression of Interest form so we can provide support and keep you up to date:

Newcastle City Council

It is important that schools get involved now in planning for the opportunities available through the Erasmus+ programme. We started our engagement of Newcastle schools…

25/06/2026

Pupils and staff from five Newcastle schools travelled to London this month to attend the Critical Connections film premiere, which featured a film they had made with North East Solidarity and Teaching (NEST) volunteers from Newcastle University Student Union.

This was part of an international, multilingual digital storytelling project developed by Goldsmiths, University of London. It empowers pupils to explore identity, intercultural understanding, and global citizenship through creative film-making in multiple languages.

In attendance at the event were acclaimed authors Michael Rosen and Michael Vidon – students were able to take part in multilingual poetry workshops and to experience a memorable live performance ahead of the short film screening.
Find out more: https://internationalnewcastle.org.uk/film-premiere

25/06/2026

Primary language teachers in Newcastle - if you missed the Hub meeting on 22nd June, you can access the recording and presentation on the Newcastle Primary MFL Network padlet. If you are not already a member of the hub or need the padlet link, please contact Sarah Edgar at Newcastle City Council: [email protected]

25/06/2026

We are delighted to share the film of the region’s children and young people singing this year’s Festival song. 5,694 children and young people in 56 schools took part, celebrating the region’s diverse languages and culture together. https://internationalnewcastle.org.uk/festival-song26

Newcastle City Council Newcastle Music Service

We are delighted to share the film of the region’s children and young people singing this year’s Festival song. 5,694 children and young people from…

25/06/2026

We loved celebrating the Dragon Boat Festival with staff and students from the Confucius Institute and Newcastle University. Find out more: https://internationalnewcastle.org.uk/dragonboat2026