See this article posted on the BBC website "Being Bilingual Boosts Brain Power!"  Go to link for more information -

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-17892521

Little Bridge launches in the Dominican Republic.

Paul Rogers has just returned from a very successful trip to the Dominican Republic where he was carrying out training and visiting key schools where Little Bridge is being implemented.

He also attended the launch of Little Bridge at the Embassy in the Dominican Republic.

Alan Jackson from UDP who accompanied Paul to the launch at the Embassy, had this feedback about the event:

'It was a splendid event and difficult to know how it might be bettered . Excellent attendance in both quality and numbers ( full house ! )

Paul gave a magnificent presentation which went down incredibly well .
Great fedback . Local team well-fired-up . Decision makers want it !!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/ukindominicanrepublic/sets/72157629533257402/

We are the proud sponsors of the Primary Language Awards which took place at this year’s Education show at the NEC in Birmingham.

The organisers were overwhelmed with the number of entrants and also the very high calibre of primary level teaching of languages.

The winners were:

Pillgwenlly Primary School, Newport (EAL)

Alderman Davies Church Primary School in Wales (Welsh)

Jackie Rayment, Herts LA (French)

Vicarage Primary School, Kendal (German)

Springfield Lower School, Bedford (Italian)

Cabot Primary School, Bristol (Special recognition)

These awards are vital for acknowledging the importance of learning languages from a primary age.

Liz Foxwell, organiser of the awards said:

“Research has indicated that the earlier children begin learning a language, the easier the transition to secondary school where high attainment levels in languages can be harder to achieve. The Primary Languages Classroom Awards are a marker of success for schools in establishing this strong early start, and play an important role as a platform for best practice.”

More information about the awards and details about how to apply for next year’s awards can be found at www.languageawards.com

The Welsh minister for education and skills, Leighton Andrews, congratulated the schools for the hard work they put in that saw them win the awards.

Mr Andrews added that studying languages at primary schools is vital to provide the foundation for children to build on when they get to secondary school.

The winners will receive annual subscriptions to Little Bridge, Petit Pont and Kleinbrucken.

Press Release.

For immediate release:

Enter a virtual community, meet the characters living there and play a huge variety of games whilst effortlessly learning English - that is what is being offered to millions of young students in Spain and Latin American, thanks to a new partnership between Little Bridge World and University of Dayton Publishing.

These two entrepreneurial British and Spanish based companies are delighted to announce this new partnership. It will see students from Spain, Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, El Salvador, Guatemala, Costa Rica, Chile, Peru, Dominican Republic & Puerto Rico, all gain access to the ground-breaking digital learning resource: Little Bridge.

Commenting on the agreement, Emma Rogers from Little Bridge World said:

'Little Bridge is fast expanding to become a significant provider of English teaching solutions in the Spanish (and Portuguese) speaking world. We are delighted to be working with our partners, UDP, to provide millions more students with the opportunity to learn English using our exciting, innovative resource.'

Little Bridge is a cutting edge and cost effective solution that uniquely draws on an English speaking virtual world, including an innovative, secure, social network of young learners. It ensures that students gain a fantastic grasp of the English language and culture - effortlessly and with significantly positive outcomes.

Alan Jackson, Global Director of UDP said:

‘UDP is delighted to be partnering with Little Bridge World in introducing this amazing new method of teaching to the EFL communities in Spain and Latin America. Littlebridge.com creates the sparks that motivate young children and keep them on a positive and fun path, so that they can continue to progress and enjoy their English studies in these early, formative years of learning.’

The new partnership will be celebrated in March at an event at the British Embassy in Madrid, hosted by the Ambassador.

Commenting on this deal Belinda Coombes, Director Trade and Investment Madrid, UKTI said:

‘We are delighted that Little Bridge World and University of Dayton Publishing have agreed to work in partnership to distribute the award winning English language product, Little Bridge, in both the Spanish and Latin American markets. It is great to see a young British company making such an impact on the export market and it is a great example of the sort of partnership that UKTI wants to encourage and support. UKTI looks forward to supporting the launch of Little Bridge in Madrid in March and across Latin America later in the year.’

In the global environment in which today’s children are growing up, nobody doubts the value of learning English. The high quality games-based technology uniquely developed by Little Bridge World and underpinned with a strong pedagogical foundations, confirms that playful learning really does work.

This exciting news signals a further export success and comes just after Little Bridge World announced a deal to provide Little Bridge to every secondary state school student in Mexico, in partnership with the Mexican Government.

For more information please contact: adrian.hall@littlebridge.com 
www.littlebridge.com 
Tel: +44 (0)20 8741 3575 Fax: +44 (0)20 8741 9851

Just had an exciting piece of news. We've been short-listed for this year's prestigious Education Resources Awards 2012 in the category: Education Exporters of the Year. We're looking forward to Awards night on 16th March. Fingers crossed!

http://www.besa.org.uk/documents/education-resources-awards-2012-shortlist/

We were honoured to meet His Royal Highness The Duke of York when he visited our stand at the BETT Show 2012. He was both interested and knowledgeable.

His visit was certainly a highlight of this year's show!

Welcome Roz!

'appy to report that lots of people enjoyed playing with our Apps!

Good to greet old friends and to meet new ones...