The Side by Side Award Ceremony was well attended by 120 students, parents, teachers and special guests to present certificates and prizes to 50 winning students and hear about the important role of second language learning in mainstream schools.

Mr Chris Tallentire MLA, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Water; Fisheries; Forestry; Innovation and ICT; Science demonstrated his regard for leaders to possess language skills, stating his push for “Languages” to be listed in the bios of each Member of Parliament in future publications of the Parliamentary Handbook. Before concluding his speech with wise words in fluent French, Mr Tallentire said:

“In a world where we are talking about the need for us to be increasingly international, we have to flag up when somebody speaks another language. And we also need to note where the deficiencies are.”

Hon Donna Faragher, Shadow Minister for Education and Women’s Interests and Member for East Metropolitan Region, reiterated the importance of learning another language for the children of today:

“The discipline of learning a new language, in itself, provides young inquisitive minds like those of the students here today, with the knowledge that the world is big and full of opportunities… As Western Australian we have an acute understanding of the importance of trade and region in which we live. Therefore, the study of languages and the ability to communicate across cultures is becoming an increasingly powerful tool. It can give someone the edge they need to get ahead and it might, and often does, expand their opportunities in places they might never had thought possible.”

Thank you to MC Li Liu and congratulations to our winners and their language teachers.