Children & Young People » Regional Projects

Campion School in Northamptonshire and Aldercar Community Language College in Derbyshire are the first schools in the region to attend a 'Musubi' day at Loughborough University.

Musubi is Japanese for a link or a tie and is being used to promote the connections between Japan and the East Midlands. The project has been awarded the Inspire mark and were devised by Gaynor Nash, the regional 2012 children and young people's co-ordinator.

The Aldercar visit in March 2010 included Taiko drumming workshops, judo sessions, language sessions and a sushi workshop at lunchtime.

The day ended with a question and answer session between four Japanese 400m hurdlers, Yoshida Kazuaki, Yoshikata Masahira, Imazeki Yuta, Kawakita Naohiro, and the Aldercar children, with translation help provided by the South Wolds students.

The project was once again led by students from South Wolds Community School in Keyworth, who have won a prestigious European Award for Languages 2010, for the Musubi project.

The students are developing great project management skills through the organisation of events, and are improving their Japanese language skills through the interaction with the athletes.

The next Musubi day is September 27th and will feature Brookvale High School, Leicestershire who will meet Leicester City FC's Japanese star, Yuki Abe.