Edinburgh College’s Modern Languages department wins national education award
Edinburgh College’s Modern Languages department proved they’re fluent in success after picking up a national education award at a ceremony in Glasgow last week.
The team won the Partnership with Schools Award at the Herald Higher Education (HE) Awards in recognition of their work in collaborating with schools the length and breadth of the country to deliver National Qualifications in Modern Languages to young people through an innovative online model.
The department’s inspiring work has helped increase opportunities for school pupils to continue learning French, German, Italian and Spanish at Higher and Advanced Higher levels, thereby bridging the gap between school and university and allowing students from any school in Scotland to potentially go on to study languages at university level.
This project initially started with a number of local schools and has since gone from strength to strength. In the academic year 2024/25, the College worked with 180 pupils – up from 62 in 2014/2015 – in 95 schools across Scotland, across over 20 local authorities, including many remote areas where in-person language hubs are not possible.
Feedback from learners shows that the online delivery has been enormously appreciated and instrumental in improving pupils’ range and sophistication in the language they have chosen to learn. Pupils report that their work ethic, organisational and IT skills have also improved, which has resulted in an increased feeling of confidence inside and outside of their digital classroom.
Edinburgh College Head of School for Community-based ESOL and Modern Languages, Kay Penman said: “I am so proud of the whole team. This award reflects their hard work, innovative online delivery model and commitment to their students as well as the sector-leading SQA results achieved in the exams.
“I also want to highlight the outstanding efforts of Caroline Cordier, our Curriculum Team Manager, whose commitment to providing access to language learning to school pupils across Scotland has really driven this project to where it is today. Thanks to our provision, hundreds of pupils in almost a hundred schools have been able to continue learning languages.”
Edinburgh College Principal Audrey Cumberford said: “Congratulations to our Modern Languages department on this fantastic award success! This is well-deserved recognition of their hard work in building partnerships with schools across Scotland to deliver a vital online service for many young people who want to continue learning a language.”
The Herald HE Awards took place on Thursday 29 May at the Radisson Blu hotel in Glasgow Hotel in Glasgow.