From languages to life on two wheels
Where might a love of languages take you? For LEH alumna Maddy Nutt (Class of 2016), the answer has included a career racing bikes around the world.
Maddy, now a professional gravel cyclist, returned to LEH as part of our Languages Day celebrations, sharing her experiences with students and reflecting on the many ways in which the languages she studied at School have continued to enrich her life and career.
Her talk offered students an inspiring example of the value of languages beyond the classroom. Professional gravel cycling is an international sport, involving travel, races and encounters with people from many different countries and cultures. Maddy explained how the love of languages she developed at LEH has proved a real advantage, enabling her to communicate and connect with people throughout her career.
Her experiences provided a powerful reminder that studying languages is not simply about mastering vocabulary and grammar. Languages can build confidence, encourage curiosity about other cultures and create connections with people we might otherwise never have the opportunity to know. They are skills that can travel with students throughout their lives, sometimes in careers they may not yet even have imagined.
Maddy’s visit formed part of a wider programme celebrating Languages Day across LEH. The day brought languages to life throughout the School, with Form Time activities, a themed lunch and foreign languages poetry readings, all while dressed in colours representing countries they love.
From bonjour and hola to ciao, hallo, dzień dobry and 你好, LEH Languages Day captured the international spirit of the LEH.
Languages at LEH
LEH’s rich and supportive language programme empowers pupils to communicate with confidence in new languages. As their fluency grows, so does their ability to connect, collaborate and think across cultures, skills that are vital in a globalised world.