Its name may hark back to days of the country's history, but English Martyrs school is very much a symbol of a modern-day multi-cultural society.
The children and the languages they speak

An astonishing 31 different languages are spoken by pupils at the school in Sparkhill, Birmingham.

Their native tongues range from Polish, Romanian and Spanish, to Arifkaans, Tamil and Arabic.
But, despite the challenges posed to teachers, the school was ranked one of the best performing in Birmingham in last year's SATs exams, with 91 per cent of students getting the benchmark level four or above in English, and 89 per cent in maths.

Success: The school was ranked one of the best performing in Birmingham in last year's SATs exams
Figures obtained by the Birmingham Mail revealed that more than 120 languages spoken across the city's schools
Despite being a Catholic school, the majority of pupils at English Martyrs hail from a Pakistani background, with Urdu/Mirpuri the most common dialect spoken by youngsters in the home.
All teaching staff specialise in teaching English as an additional language and the school also uses translators.


Senior teacher Darren Byrne said buddying up new pupils with children who share the same mother tongue was the key to the school's success.



He said: 'We have had many children who have come in with no English whatsoever, and the first thing we do is pair them with other children, as that is the best way for the language to be introduced to them.


'We also use pictures, books and the internet.

'But I find a child having a friend and a confidante is the easiest way for them to pick up words and language which is most important for their day-to-day life at school.'

This can include talking to the teachers and knowing the word for 'sir', 'miss', 'please' and 'thank you', through to words for objects and nouns. 

Latest Government figures show pupils who speak English as their first language are now in the minority at more than a quarter of Birmingham schools.

Department for Education records showed a majority of students at 117 of the city's 430 primary and secondary schools listed a different language as their mother tongue.

English Martyrs, which recently celebrated its centenary, has moved from having a mainly Irish Catholic roll from the 1950s and 60s through to a majority of pupils from a Pakistani background today.

Around 11 per cent of students are currently Catholic, but new head teacher Evelyn Harper said she expected the number to increase with greater numbers of pupils from Poland, Romania and other eastern European countries. Mrs Harper added that parents played a 'huge part' in their child's success in the classroom.

She said: 'I only came here seven weeks ago, but already I can't believe the respect that parents and children show teachers and the teaching profession that maybe isn't there from white indigenous cultures.

'Parents really care for their children, they want them to do better and for that reason our results are very, very high.'


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