Language students thriving at Alnwick school

Duchess's Community High School in Alnwick.

Students from Duchess’s Community High School (DCHS) currently are entered into French, Spanish, Polish and Japanese GCSEs and A-Levels this summer, with bumper numbers opting to study the courses next year.

Testament to the hard work of the students and staff in the department; a record number of students have entered the Anthea Bell translation competition, organised by Queen’s College, Oxford.

The entrants will first see their work judged by the teaching staff at DCHS then five entrants will be sent off to be judged by the University College in the coming weeks.

Inspired by the work of the translator Anthea Bell, one of the finest and most influential translators of the 20th and 21st centuries, The Young Translator Competition is organised by the Queen's College, Oxford and aims to inspire school children to discover and develop their creative linguistic skills.

A team of Oxford undergraduates and professional translators will judge entries to the competition. Professional translators will be based in or originally from the area that they judge. The judges look to reward creativity; winning entries will strike a balance between creativity and accuracy.

Area winners are selected for each level in each language. National winners and runners-up for each level in each language are selected from the area winners. A number of commendations are awarded to recognise high quality work.

Sofi Dixon, a languages teacher at the school, said: “This is the first time we’ve entered this competition and we are very proud of our students' interest, creativity and professionalism. They are setting an impressive precedent and a high challenge to next year's contestants!”

Co-heads Alan Rogers and James Wilson held a special European breakfast for the entrants and said: “This work is something they should be particularly proud of, and we hope that the judges recognise the standard of this work.”

The entrants from DCHS were: Jasmin, Isobel, William, Emilia and Logan in Year 8, Rebecca, Grace and Sophie in Year 9, as well as Grace and Ben in Sixth Form.