A former Otley student has returned to her old school to talk about how her language skills are forging her career.

Alex Reed went on to study Chinese and German at university after studying languages, and taking part in an exchange trip, while at Prince Henry's Grammar School.

She will be putting her Chinese to professional use later this year, after she graduates in July, working for Horsforth firm TPP to help it build relationships across China.

Alex, who returned to Prince Henry's recently to talk about her experiences with members of its extra-curricular Chinese Club, said: “If I hadn’t done Chinese at school I wouldn’t have taken it at university.

“Doing Chinese at Prince Henry’s gave me a taste and the exchange was amazing. And now I will graduate in July and start my new job, using my degree in Chinese, in September.”

Faculty leader in Modern Foreign Languages at Prince Henry’s, Jo Barber, added: “Alex is a real example of the benefits of language learning and the importance of opening up the world to our students through lessons and extra curricular clubs.

“We are really proud of her and her achievements. All our students study Chinese in Year 8, alongside either French or Spanish and German, taking at least one language at GCSE level.

“It’s lovely when one of our former students comes back and shows the other students what exciting opportunities their future could hold if they continue to study languages.”

TPP provides IT solutions to help connect different healthcare organisations within the NHS and worldwide.