The first winner of this Mary Glasgow 14-19 Curriculum Prize was the Vocational International Project (VIPS) based in Sheffield. This is a highly successful scheme bringing local businesses and schools together to teach young people languages and why languages are important in business. The winning project has real quality in both planning and teaching, and has had increasing success in encouraging more Sheffield youngsters to continue to learn a language after the age of 14.

The VIPS scheme is designed by experienced teachers, led by Katherine Smith who is based at  Silverdale School, a specialist language college in the city.  French, German, Spanish, Italian and business English are taught at Silverdale and 17 other Sheffield schools, and over 1000 students in the city have benefited since VIPS was introduced in September 2003. Careful planning, including - importantly - the professional development of the teachers, and the use of national assessment, mean that there is a clear structure in place that would enable other schools and colleges to do something similar. 

To find out more about this project, click here  (link to article by Katherine Smith) to read an article by  the project manager, Katherine Smith, who was instrumental in setting up the scheme.

To see a fuller evaluation of VIPS visit this website:  http://www.sheffieldvips.com/fullhistory.htm

 

To find out how YOU can apply for the 14-19 Curriculum Prize in 2009, Please click HERE to download an application.