This week Prime Minister Helen Clark backed an Education Ministry recommendation that all New Zealand pupils aged between 10 and 14 have the option to learn a second language.

Kate Pearman, 12, who can shop and count in French and took Japanese last year, said the idea was fantastic. "It gives them the opportunity to learn a different culture."

And Michael Boyes, 12, who is taking Japanese and learnt French last year, said: "I think it also decreases racism. You get to see and respect that we all have differences."

The school offered Arabic, mainly to native Arabic speakers, along with Japanese and French to all its year 7 and 8 pupils in lessons twice a week.

It was an effort to squeeze the lessons into an already crowded curriculum, deputy principal Jane Reddish said. But it paid off for pupils in a better understanding of their own languages, preparation for high school, and understanding the diversity of cultures.