Carnoustie High pupils forge French connection with Dee stars
Carnoustie High School has forged a French connection with a trio of Dundee FC's overseas stars.
Dee fan favourites Mo Sylla, Ziyad Larkeche and Billy Koumetio visited the Angus secondary this week.
The trio were invited there as part of a drive to highlight the importance of languages in a Developing the Young Workforce initiative.
Teacher Katherine Irvine said the visit was inspired by a fantastic S2 project on French sportspeople, which featured midfielder Sylla.
It was also connected to an S4 pupil's work placement with the media team at Dens Park.
She said: 'The players, all originally from Paris, spent the afternoon engaging with our S2 pupils.
'The pupils had prepared questions to ask the players about their careers, diets, routines, upbringing, and to discuss the importance of learning a language.
'The pupils were a credit to CHS. They were engaged, focused and interested in hearing from the players.
As Billy said: 'Learning languages is not just for travel, but for life – to be able to talk to other people and work as a team.'
She added: 'The players were so amenable and gracious. The event was not only inspiring, but also a powerful reminder of the real-world value of learning languages.
'A huge thank you to Dundee FC, the players, and everyone involved in making this event such a success.'
The project has already seen the school work with the University of St Andrews, and pupils are also set to meet Royal Navy linguists.
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