We are delighted to announce that the faculty will appoint a full time School Liaison and Outreach officer from 2021/22 for five years.  This post is now fully funded for five years thanks to a generous donation from Sir Michael Perry GBE. He said: "I am a fervent supporter of modern language teaching  in our schools.  To learn another nation’s language is to gain privileged entry to its society and culture, and acquire a priceless asset for life and work  The development of my own career in International business benefitted hugely from language skills implanted at school." 

Professor Almut Suerbaum, Faculty Board Chair, commented: "We are enormously grateful to Michael Perry for his generosity and his support of Modern Languages. His gift means will allow us to continue and expand our outreach programme. Building on the successful work since 2017, when philanthropic support from David and Maria Willets enabled us to create a part-time position for three years, we hope to reach many more young people in the coming years. Today, linguists are needed more than ever, and our engagement with schools allows us to show how exciting it is to study languages and cultures - or, in the words of one participant at a faculty event, that 'linguists are cool!'"