Primary language teachers in Newcastle are invited to join the first online meeting of the relaunched Primary Languages Hub. This has been widely advertised and many primary teachers have already signed up. It’s not too late to join the meeting:
- Newcastle Primary Hub Network Meeting: 3.45-5.15pm on 25th November (Online)
- Click here to sign up to join the Primary Hub, sign up for the meeting in November and to let us know what you would like the Hub to discuss.
- Contact Sarah Edgar (School Effectiveness, Newcastle City Council) for any queries: sarah.edgar@newcastle.gov.uk
Newcastle Primary Hub for language teachers
The Primary Modern Foreign Languages (MFL) Hub in Newcastle builds on the success of the previous MFL Primary network. It is hosted by Newcastle City Council, under the auspices of the Association of Language Learning (ALL) and is also supported by International Newcastle, as part of Newcastle City of Languages.
The hub is led by MFL teacher Caroline Hewson, who brings a wealth of expertise and passion for language education. We invite all Primary languages teachers from across the city to join this revised primary hub.
The first meeting will:
- discuss feedback from Primary languages teachers about what topics they would like to discuss in future
- hear from Express Yourself: North East Festival of Languages Co-ordinator (and International Newcastle Chief Executive Officer), Declan Baharini, who will talk about the opportunities available to schools during the Festival from January to March 2025 and how this can also contribute to International School Award and Schools of Sanctuary work
- share information from ALL about online events, resources and opportunities, as well as key topics such as the curriculum review and feedback on recent activities and the Calligrams 2024 celebration
- hear about creative classroom resources from Caroline Hewson and Claire Seccombe
Meetings will be once a term and held online, to maximise the opportunity for as many primary teachers to attend as possible. Guest speakers and experts will be invited to provide insight and expertise in areas of interest identified by Primary Hub members. Information will also be shared by a dedicated Primary MFL Hub padlet, an online platform that all teachers can access.
We look forward to seeing you at the Primary Hub Network Meeting and collaborating in this exciting new phase of MFL support for language teachers.
Newcastle City of Languages
Newcastle City of Languages is a partnership initiative supporting language teaching and learning, which launched in January 2020. Led by International Newcastle, a partnership of local, regional and national organisations work together to facilitate and broker a range of opportunities, from enrichment activities to career-related language programmes and CPD. We also support cultural and international connections for schools, helping to ensure that students gain meaningful experiences through languages.

International Newcastle also co-ordinates and collaborates with Newcastle City Council and many other local, regional, national and international partners to deliver the annual Express Yourself: North East Festival of Languages.
This Festival offers FREE events, activities and resources around languages, cultures, and careers to children and young people in schools and community schools in the North East. The Festival website is live and the 2025 programme of events and activities is open for registrations, with activities and events from January to March 2025.
Click on the links for more information:
- Click here to see the full Festival What’s On programme
- Click here to download the Festival Programme summary
- Click here to see the KS1-2 programme (3-11 year-olds)
- Click here to see the KS3-5 programme (11-18 year-olds)
- Follow the Festival on social media: instagram | facebook | X
- Sign up on the Festival home page for the newsletter for latest updates




