Communities

Education minister praises Arsenal's Double Club

17 Jun 2019
Damian Hinds Arsenal visit

Damian Hinds joins schoolchildren being taught foreign languages by the club at Emirates Stadium

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As one of the most international of the Premier League clubs, Arsenal know the value of being able to speak different languages and so have been helping to get schoolchildren into modern foreign languages. 

And Education Secretary Damian Hinds was impressed by Arsenal's education programme when he saw it in action last week. 

Launched in 2006, Double Club uses Arsenal-themed classroom resources, including videos involving their overseas players, and culminates with pupils getting a guided tour of Emirates Stadium.

Hinds joined pupils from Sheffield Park Academy, in Sheffield, at the Arsenal stadium to see the benefits of the scheme and meet Dan Lane, the interpreter for the club's Spanish head coach Unai Emery.

"Being an interpreter at one of the greatest football clubs in the world would be a dream job for so many, but, for people like me who don't speak another language well, it's out of reach," said Hinds.

The minister added that, although progress in encouraging young people to take languages was being made by the Government, more could be done, and so was appreciative of Arsenal's efforts.

"The Double Club is a fantastic initiative that really brings to life how fun and useful learning a language can be by harnessing the diversity and popularity of football," Hinds said.

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