My Burford -Doctor Kedi Simpson

Kedi, our Head of MFL, reflects on her journey to Burford, her vision for language learning and the energy and enthusiasm that drive the department forward.

Since joining Burford School, I have been struck by the energy, creativity and commitment within the Modern Foreign Languages department. What first attracted me to the role was the chance to work with a team so clearly dedicated to both their subjects and their students. I was also excited by the opportunity to be part of a department that teaches German alongside French and Spanish. At a time when German is disappearing from many schools, I have seen in particular how German can attract a type of language learner who does not seem so keen on the Romance languages of French and Spanish.

Before arriving at Burford, I spent nine years as Head of Languages at Matthew Arnold School in Oxford. During that time, I also completed my PhD in second language acquisition. When I joined Burford, I found a brilliant department full of great staff and students. I had done some research into the state of language teaching in Oxfordshire before I applied and could see that we attract more students than average at GCSE and A level, which is a really encouraging reflection on the team’s excellence.

I see my role as having three main strands. Firstly, I am a classroom teacher, and I aim to model what good teaching and learning look like. Secondly, there is management—ensuring everything runs smoothly, from making sure everyone is entered for the right exams all the way down to glue sticks and toner for the printer. Thirdly, and most importantly, there is leadership: this is about having a vision for the department and doing my very best to get everyone else in the team excited about that vision so that we can continue to be excellent.

One of my key priorities is to ensure that all three languages continue to be reflected in strong numbers at GCSE and A level. This starts at Key Stage 3, where my vision is for students to speak and listen confidently—and to be excited that they can communicate their ideas in a different language.

What I enjoy most about leading the department is the energy and commitment I see from both staff and students. This ranges from the huge variety of trips to the more humdrum aspects, such as having good, reliable systems for homework. I love opening students’ eyes to the ‘world beyond the Anglosphere’ and watching them listen in awe when we teachers communicate with each other in a different language. One student commenting on how cool that is can make my day.

Burford is a special place to work as a linguist and an educator because of its commitment to bringing learning to life. The variety of trips and exchanges is a perfect example of this. I am especially looking forward to expanding these opportunities further, including introducing French and German exchanges alongside the already successful Spanish programme. I have also introduced a German Christmas markets trip for Year 8 (which I also ran at Matthew Arnold and the school before that), where we will be able to visit our German exchange school for the morning.

In the classroom, I strongly believe we need to look both inside and outside the classroom. Inside, I am a great fan of target language teaching: that is, doing as much as possible in French, German or Spanish so that we learn not only what is on the scheme of work, but also a range of basic communication skills, and really enjoy trying to say what we want to say in the language we are learning. This sometimes results in a certain level of ‘controlled chaos’ as I mime my way through explanations and insist that students ask to leave the room in the target language.

Outside the classroom, having a very consistent homework routine really helps. For older years, approaches such as sharing music playlists and ideas for TV shows allow students to realise that language learning does not stop when they leave the classroom: French (for example) is not just a timetable slot, it is a whole other world.

We have also been developing the Key Stage 3 curriculum, particularly in French and German, by refining our use of the Conti method. By updating and improving resources, we are already seeing positive results, and I am excited about the long-term impact of the final step in the ‘contification’ process.

Although I have not yet been at Burford for a full year, there have already been highlights. The dedication shown by Year 11 during their mock speaking exams was outstanding; they did the department proud in the way they took the work seriously, knuckled down, and produced some really excellent language that we are all very proud of. I am also very much looking forward to taking Years 8 and 9 to the Rhein land in June.

Looking ahead, I am working on a book for teachers based on the findings of my PhD, which followed the progress of a group of 80 students of French from the start of Year 7 to the end of Year 9. That is at the top of my linguistics and pedagogy list. I am also aware that my linguistic knowledge is largely based in the Germanic and Romance language families, but I recently completed Level 1 in British Sign Language, so I need to make sure that does not become rusty. I would also like to develop a decent working knowledge of Welsh, and I am travelling to Ukraine in the summer to volunteer for a charity that imports vehicles for use on the front line, so it would be good to have at least a rudimentary level of Ukrainian.

If I had to describe Burford in three words, I think “Respect, Participate, Reach” does the job admirably. I have valued the respect my colleagues have shown me since I started; I am in awe of how much everyone participates and gets stuck in, and I admire the ambition seen across the school.