Last week, John Kyrle High School had a visit from guest speaker, Tim Penn, who discussed his journey into business and the importance of languages as a communication GSCE.

Tim Penn spoke to the year eight and nine students at the school sharing his career path and encouraging them to consider that any future career could be international. 

His original exposure to a new language came during his sporting career as a jockey, when he was based for a year at the world-renowned racing centre of Chantilly, north of Paris. 

He arrived in the country not speaking any French and spent a year developing these skills.

The career opportunities he had after this year in Paris, was the first indicator to the importance of being bilingual.