VICTORIAN Premier Daniel Andrews dropped into Hampton Park recently.
The Premier took a tour of the Victorian School of Languages as students studied over the weekend.
The Hampton Park centre which has been operating locally for 10 years provides classes in nine languages.
This year alone the school is running 33 classes for more than 600 students.
Mr Andrews said: “It was fantastic to see so many keen students and their hard-working teachers on a Saturday morning.
“Given the ever-increasing importance of languages, this school is doing much to prepare students for the wider world.”
The school showcased students learning Punjabi, French, Arabic and Japanese.
Principal of the school Frank Merlino said: “Victoria has the highest number of students of any state studying a language at the VCE level.”
He added that the language schools made a great contribution to the record, by teaching 48 languages in 40 campuses around Victoria.
“The students also broaden their horizons, develop a greater appreciation of their communication skills, and improve their career choices,” Mr Merlino said.
For more information about the Hampton Park school, visit: www.vsl.vic.edu.au/Default.aspx.
