At Canning House we're passionate about Latin American and Iberian culture and like all passionate people we want to share that with as many people as possible.

That's why for many years we have run a dedicated education outreach programme working closely with schools, colleges and community centres across the UK to offer unique and inspiring experiences through Ibero-American culture in all its richness and diversity.

Over the years we have treated budding linguists to bilingual theatre productions in English and Spanish; let our imaginations run wild in creative writing workshops navigating folkloric traditions in the Andes and tantalised tastebuds with culinary workshops sampling the best of world cuisine.

Our annual programme is jampacked with different events but one thing unifies them all: each event not only provides young students with a unique view of a different culture but invites them to find undiscovered treasures within their own.

We are proud to offer the majority of our workshops, events and competitions for free. We welcome you to get in touch with requests for tailored workshops, guest speakers and school visits to our renowned Hispanic Library - so just ask!

As a charity we also welcome donations from those who would like to see our work continue and help us to reach more, do more and achieve more every year.

If you would like to make a donation or discuss a project we.re just a phone call away 0207 235 2303 ext. 221 or email education-outreach@canninghouse.org

If you are with an educational institution or charity and would like to enjoy the full range of our benefits please visit our membership page here.

For information on our exciting upcoming events see here.

Canning House Essay Competition Award Ceremony - Past Event

30th March 2010 18:30-20:00

On the 30th March Louis de Bernières was present to award the winners of the 2010 Canning House Essay Competition with a fantastic range of prizes. This year's competition was a great success with our largest number of entrants yet. The theme - The Environment, Climate Change in Latin America and/or Iberia - inspired students to write on a range of topics, with pupils exploring the financial, social and ecological impact of Climate Change from the Canary Islands to the Amazon, the Galapagos to the Glaciers.

1st Prize in the Spanish category, a return flight to Latin America courtesy of Iberia and £200, was won by Vladimir Tchoub from Bedford School, with 2nd Prize going to Miranda Lee from St Paul's Girls' School, London and 3rd Prize was taken by Megan Moore, Howell's School, Wales. In the Portuguese category the 1st Prize of a return flight to Brazil courtesy of TAM and £200 went to Maria Luisa Leal da Costa of Truro College, with Thylda Bares of Queen Mary's and Nathanael Mota of Battersea Park School picking up the 2nd and 3rd prizes respectively.

The inclusion of an extra category, the Gap Year category, proved extremely popular and there was no shortage of adventurous and persuasive candidates telling us Why I want to Spend a Gap Year in Latin America. The judges were so impressed with the quality of the submissions that the decision was made, thanks to the generosity of Lattitude Global Volunteering, to offer not one but two Volunteering Packages. Roly Witherow of Christ Church, Oxford and Anirban Ray-Chauduri of Royal Grammar School, Newcastle were rewarded with Lattitude Gap Year Experiences in Brazil and Mexico and we look forward to hearing how they get on. Thanks must go once again to Iberia for offering a return flight to take Anirban to Mexico.

Louis de Bernières provided more than enough inspiration to our travelling winners with an hilarious and fascinating account of his own year spent in Colombia, before treating the winners and guests to a reading from one of his own Latin American novels, The War of Don Emmanuel's Nether Parts. Chairing the event, the Canning House Vice-Present Lord Garel-Jones underlined the important work being done by the teachers and schools who have helped their pupils to reach such accomplished levels in their early language-learning careers. As Canning House looks forward to continuing to support and encourage Spanish and Portuguese and the skills and potential their acquisition bring, proceedings were brought to a close with the unveiling of next year's essay title: "Where do I belong? Regional Identity in Latin America and/or Iberia"

We look forward to opening the competition once more in Autumn 2010.

School Workshop: The Galapagos - Paradise Found

22nd April 2010 11:00-13:00

The Galapagos Islands are unique - probably the only place on earth where we can get a real sense of what the world was like before humans. Canning House invites you to a workshop that will bring the Galapagos alive. Santhiago, our speaker, has spent his life exploring and promoting the islands and their rich natural history. He will guide pupils as they learn about the flora and fauna, the scientific past and the conservationist future of the area.

For more details and bookings please call Oliver Eccles on T: +44 (0)20 7235 2303 x221

Or email education-outreach@canninghouse.org

Arsenal Portuguese Double Club Launch Event

23rd April 2010 14:00-16:30

Canning House is proud to be part of Arsenal FC's Portuguese Double Club scheme, an initiative that aims to promote and encourage Portuguese language learning and skills through both classroom work and football training. Having already met with great success in French, Spanish and German, the scheme began piloting at the beginning of the year with the support of training materials provided by first-teamers Eduardo and Denilson. With the programme set to expand across the country later this year, Canning House is hosting an afternoon celebrating Lusophone culture through games, talks and guest speakers.

By invitation only.