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Linguastars Languages Residential

Past participants presenting in the Linguastars showcase

Are you studying A-Level French, Spanish or German? Experience what it's like to study languages at university on our free residential for Year 12 languages students! 

You will arrive on the afternoon on Tuesday 25 June and depart by 17.00 on Thursday 27 June 2024.

At Linguastars, you will take part in engaging and interactive workshops designed to give you a taster of studying languages at university, and explore the career opportunities available to graduates. There will be the opportunity to discover new languages, meet our current languages students, stay overnight in our student accommodation and join in with social activities that give you a rounded experience of university life.

As part of the residential you can choose to study one of your A-Level languages;  French, German or Spanish. You will also participate in lots of other language and subject tasters such as Italian, Korean, Linguistics and Translation. You don't need to have previous experience of studying these and will choose your options if you secure a space on the event.

Following on from the Linguastars Residential you’ll be given the opportunity to participate in some online workshops to support you until the point of submitting your UCAS application in Year 13.

"I now have a much better understanding of university in general and especially the language courses at Leeds. " 2023 participant

"[I] gained so much confidence, both in meeting new people and in my language ability!" - 2022 participant

Apply for the Linguastars Languages Residential

We invite applications from all Year 12 French, Spanish and German students, but priority will be given to those who live in an area of low progression to higher education,and/or those who study German, and/or those who meet 1 or 2 of the following criteria:

  • Your parents or carers did not go to university
  • You are from a household with a gross annual income of £25,000 or below
  • You attended or attend a school which achieved below the national average Attainment 8 score at GCSE
  • Your studies have been disrupted due to personal circumstances
  • You are/were eligible for Free School Meals during your GCSE studies or later
  • You are care experienced
  • You are estranged (separated) from your parents or guardians

There may be a contribution of up to £100 towards travel costs for eligible students.

When we send confirmation on whether students are successful in their application to attend the summer school they will also be informed if they are eligible to claim for travel.

Apply for Linguastars 2024

Applications are open from 29th January to 27th March 23:59pm.

Find out more about Linguastars

Linguastars 2024 Programme

Take a look at our provisional programme for Linguastars 2024

Student Blog - Deia, Linguastars 2022

I participated in Linguastars in June 2022 when I was in year 12. I was feeling quite intimidated back then about the whole university application process and what I wanted to study. I was studying French at A level, and it was my favourite subject since high school and I have always been passionate about learning different languages in my spare time. But I was unsure if I wanted to continue with French at a higher level or study it in my spare time. I was also unsure exactly where I wanted to study, because I liked to idea of moving out of Leeds, but also had enjoyed attending some previous events at the university.

I saw a notice for Linguastars on my sixth form email bulletin and thought it would be the perfect way of getting the experience of being a languages student and knowing more about the University of Leeds environment and how they teach. I liked the range of different languages the programme let us choose workshops from, as I was considering French with a non-European language at University and Leeds has a very diverse school of languages. I chose the French, Thai, Italian, and Interpreting workshops and enjoyed all of them. The interpreting session made me realise I could see myself having a career where I use my language skills daily, and the overall experience confirmed that I wanted to study Modern Languages at university and continue with French. The style of lessons was fun and interactive, and the members of staff and ambassadors were all super friendly and welcoming, and told us about their experience studying Modern Languages which was also very helpful. The evening was also very fun, we went bowling and I enjoyed meeting new people with the same interests as me.

I now study French and Arabic at the University of Leeds, along with a module in Korean, and I am very pleased with my choice. Linguastars really helped me choose my degree; it gave me an insight into studying here and what I want for my future career. I recommend participating if you are unsure of what degree you want to study, have any concerns or questions about university, or just want to have a fun experience!

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