Kate Board, CILT, the National Centre for Languages
"I am delighted to announce the introduction of our brand new National Awards for Excellence in Language Learning. I am looking forward to seeing some interesting entries in all five categories and to participating in the judging process. These new awards will reward excellent linguists and celebrate their achievements in languages."

Kate Board is Chief Executive of CILT, the National Centre for Languages. She is a trained linguist, speaking Spanish and German as well as a number of other languages. She is a passionate advocate of languages and their potential role in society.

Sarah Breslin, Scottish CILT
"I am honoured to share in the celebration of success which these new National Awards for Excellence in Language learning represent. Languages and the transferable skills they help develop are essential if our young people are to flourish in today’s globalised economy.”

Sarah took up her post as Director of Scottish CILT in August 2009. Having lived and worked in a number of European countries, she is committed to language learning and intercultural communication and has worked in a diverse range of language-related, teaching, teacher-training, management and leaderships posts.

Sharon Czudak, CILT, the National Centre for Languages
"I’m delighted to be a judge for these awards as they are a wonderful opportunity to celebrate the linguistic achievements of our young people. Languages have been a very important part of my life, both for work and for pleasure; they have enabled me to work in a number of countries as well as travel confidently and  to appreciate different cultures around the world. I wish that all young people could experience the wonderful opportunities that languages and intercultural understanding can bring."

Sharon is responsible for the dissemination of good practice within the 14-19 sector. She has a specialism in teaching and developing applied language courses and is one of the authors of the 14-19 microsite, 'Reshaping languages'. As Specialist Subject Adviser to the Diploma Development Partnership for the Diploma in Languages and International Communication, she plays a key role in the development of the new Diploma.

Anne Feltham, former HMI
‘As a teenager, it was learning a language that first got me excited about school and motivated me to go on to higher education. Language-learning has continued to excite me throughout my career. I’m particularly pleased that these new awards recognise the importance of community and heritage languages and the role that older students can play in helping younger language learners get started.’

Anne has taught languages in school, college, adult and higher education settings. She has, in subsequent years, contributed to a range of projects and research through her roles as a local authority adviser and then as an HMI.

Chris Hughes MBE, GCHQ
"With over 60% of our intelligence coming from foreign-language material, GCHQ looks to continue recruiting the best and most able linguists, and so is proud to be involved in CILT's Excellence in Language Awards scheme."

Having joined GCHQ in 1995 as a Spanish and Portuguese linguist, within a fairly short period of time he became the senior Albanian linguist and ethnic Albanian subject expert. He subsequently wrote a course book teaching Kosovo Geg Albanian dialect and taught this to civil servants before and after the Kosovo conflict. In the ensuing years he has worked on 15 different languages, as diverse as Afrikaans and Galician. In 2005 he became GCHQ's Head of Language Engagement, speaking to schools and universities to promote interest in and take-up of languages and a linguist career and acting as GCHQ's representative on CILT's Employers Advisory Group.

Dr. Lid King, National Director for Languages
Lid King is the National Director for Languages and Director of The Languages Company, which was set up in 2008 to develop the National Languages Strategy. Before becoming the National Director for Languages, Dr King was Director of CILT, the National Centre of Languages, where he spent eleven years developing the work of the organisation and spearheading a wide range of language initiatives.

Professor John Klapper, University of Birmingham
"Speaking a foreign language not only involves communicating with another culture but also understanding how its people think and view the world. The National Awards for Excellence in Language Learning are a great way to encourage young people to open their minds to new ways of seeing and understanding."

John Klapper is Professor of Foreign Languages and Head of the School of Languages, Cultures, Art History and Music, University of Birmingham. A former secondary school teacher, he has been involved in various initiatives to encourage the uptake of languages in secondary schools and universities.

Claire Parry, CILT Cymru
“Having been personally inspired at a young age by the life-enhancing opportunities and benefits of language learning, I am pleased that the new National Awards for Excellence in Language Learning will provide students with the motivation and focus to share ideas and successes via recognition on a national level. This is a welcome chance to celebrate the positive benefits of language competence at all levels.”

Claire Parry is the 14-19 Language Teacher Advisor at CILT Cymru and has taught languages across the whole school age range from 5-18 years and has a particular interest in the teaching of languages in a work-related context. Having graduated from the European Business Programme in France and spent many years working in industry, she has first-hand experience of the personal and work benefits of having language skills.

Cathy Pomphrey, London Metropolitan University
"I have been lucky to have had the opportunity to meet, learn and use different languages throughout my life. Living in London I have always been fascinated by the huge number of languages you can encounter every day and by the range of linguistic skill and experience of many Londoners.

The National Awards for Excellence provide a great opportunity to celebrate all languages in a creative and lively way.“

Cathy Pomphrey is Academic Leader for Initial Teacher Education at London Metropolitan University, training teachers from a diverse range of linguistic and cultural backgrounds. Before joining the University she was a Languages teacher in several London schools and has always taken a special interest in raising awareness of languages and linguistic diversity through her teaching and publications.

Itesh Sachdev, SOAS
"The Community/Heritage Language Learning awards celebrate excellence in the hundreds of languages emanating from the diverse communities that make up our multicultural society. They symbolise the much neglected and nascent linguistic capital we have, while reaffirming the cognitive, educational, cultural, communication, economic, social, occupational and health benefits of plurilingualism.”

Itesh is Professor of Language and Communication at SOAS, was born in Kenya, was brought up multilingual, did most of his schooling in Kenya, completed his secondary education in the UK, and studied psychology at the tertiary level (up to a doctorate) in the UK and Canada.  He was the Head of the School of Languages, Linguistics and Culture, Birkbeck College, and is currently Director of the SOAS-UCL Centre for Excellence in Teaching and Learning 'Languages of the Wider World'. His research and teaching interests focus on issues of language and intergroup relations including bilingualism, multilingualism and multiculturalism. He has conducted his research with various ethnolinguistic groups across the world including those in/from Bolivia, Canada, France, Hong Kong, India, Japan, Taiwan, Thailand, Tunisia and the UK.