Ahlan min Battersea! (Welcome from Battersea)

KS3 have done spectacularly well in Arabic club. We started off with a real mix of learners, from those who have never studied the language before, to fluent speakers – everyone got involved and all should be extremely proud! Students begun revising the alphabet and learning short greetings and key words. More experienced speakers helped being teaching assistants for others in the class.

We then moved on to calligraphy, as you can see some of our students have exceptionally neat handwriting. Arabic calligraphy differs from standard Arabic writing in that it requires, patience, concentration and an artistic flair. Here is Otavio’s work, one of our real stars in the club.

Students used acrylic paint and water to create watercolour style backgrounds on canvas, before tracing and painting Arabic calligraphy on top. Most students wrote the phrase “I love you” which we practiced in different calligraphic styles: Kufic, Uthmani, Diwani or Thuluth. Students chose their favourite and create beautiful artwork. Some were even more creative and chose to write their names or other words such as ‘family’. 

Linking with Geography, we studied different countries in Arab world as well as non-Arab countries where Arabic is an official language. Students created posters on this using their knowledge. Shehab in Year 8 annotated this Yemeni flag by memory! 

In our final week, students made Ramadan themed lanterns to welcome the month. Some students memorised a famous saying from the Prophet Muhammad PBUH (in Arabic and English) which I think proves inspiring regardless of religious persuasion:

The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said,

“Take advantage of five before five:

your youth before your old age,

your health before your illness,

 your riches before your poverty,

your free time before your work,

and your life before your death.”