British Primary School Where Pupils Speak 31 Different Languages, Including Yoruba

• The children and the languages they speak

 Its name may hark back to days of the country's history, but English Martyrs school is very much a symbol of a modern-day multi-cultural society.

An astonishing 31 different languages are spoken by pupils at the school in Sparkhill, Birmingham.

Their native tongues range from Yoruba, Polish, Romanian and Spanish, to Arifkaans, Tamil and Arabic.

But, despite the challenges posed to teachers, the school was ranked one of the best performing in Birmingham in last year's SATs exams, with 91 per cent of students getting the benchmark level four or above in English, and 89 per cent in maths.

Figures obtained by the Birmingham Mail revealed that more than 120 languages spoken across the city's schools

All teaching staff specialise in teaching English as an additional language and the school also uses translators.