Staff Spotlight - Naomi Rittey, Head of Spanish

When did you join Merchant Taylors'?

September 2023

Tell us about your subject. What excites you about it? How did you get into it?

I have always loved Spanish since I started studying it in Year 7 when I was at school, and even before when I had the chance to attend a Spanish club in primary school. At school I enjoyed that every lesson I was adding new words to my vocabulary knowledge and I liked seeing the quick progress that I could make towards having conversations with other people in their own language. I always felt like I was learning something new and improving. I decided to study Spanish at A Level after having a very inspirational teacher at GCSE and from there I knew that I wanted to go into a career in which I could use my Spanish. I completed a combined honours degree in Spanish and Psychology at university and from there decided to combine my interests and share my passion with others. 

It has always surprised me that over two thirds of Brits can only speak one language, and I am incredibly passionate about promoting language learning and its importance. As English speakers, it can sometimes be too easy to take the mindset 'Well, everyone speaking English anyway!' and in the ever developing society we live in the ability to speak another language is invaluable. I once heard the quote from Frank Smith that "One language sets you in a corridor for life. Two languages open every door along the way.”, which I think is a great way to sum it up - learning another language opens you up to so many opportunities, not just in work and education but also in life.

What are you most proud of outside of your work at school?

I have done a lot of fundraising for Movember in the past three years, being part of a team raising over £30,000 for the charity, mostly through running challenges. Last November I set myself the challenge of completing a half marathon every Sunday for a month and I was very proud to achieve that.

I was most proud recently when I was nominated for, and went on to win, the 'Showing how it's done' award for the whole of Movember UK out of the 100,000 fundraisers who took part in Movember 2024.

What did you study at A-Level?

Maths, Spanish, Psychology and Sociology

What piece of media would you recommend and why?

It is already a popular choice I am sure, but if you haven't yet watched La Casa de Papel (Money Heist) on Netflix (be aware that this is a 15 or an 18 for some seasons), I strongly recommend this as an enjoyable series, but also a great opportunity to watch a show in Spanish. You can even use Lingopie to learn some Spanish from the show as you watch! It is a series about an attempted robbery of the Royal Mint in Spain and it is full of suspense and dramatic turns. Sticking to the languages and robbery themes, I would also recommend 'Lupin' on Netflix (again a 15) which is a very popular French series about a professional thief. I have many other foreign language film and series suggestions for a variety of ages!