Sibling Success

Massimo and Azzurra M have both recently won awards for their competition entries.

Massimo (U6)

The Anthea Bell Prize for Young Translators is an annual competition hosted by Oxford University’s Queen’s College, and named in memory of Anthea Bell OBE (regarded as one of the most prominent translators of the 20th and 21st century). It invites language students from the UK to submit their own translation of a set text. Over 16,000 students participated in the 2024 prize, and over 3,600 entries were judged.

I was a commendee for the Spanish prize in the Year 12-13 category for my translation of an extract from La nostalgia de la Mujer Anfibio by Cristina Sanchez-Andrade.

I also participated in The Oxford French Flash Fiction Competition, a yearly contest hosted by Oxford University’s Faculty of Modern Languages. The challenge set is to write a complete story in no more than 100 words in a foreign language. I chose to write in French, as it is one of my A-Level subjects. My entry, which won a High Commendation, was set in Paris and involved a man’s reflections on his wife’s infidelity.

Azzurra (U5)

The Write on Art competition—hosted by the Paul Mellon Centre, and sponsored by the charity Art UK—is a writing competition that aims to inspire interest in art history among young people. I entered earlier this year with an essay on Käthe Kollwitz’s Woman with Dead Child, and was lucky enough to have been shortlisted. However, it was not until I arrived in London for the prize giving that I found out I had come first in my category. While the £300 I received was a highlight, I most enjoyed listening to guest judge Sally Shaw and talking with representatives of Art UK, one of whom told me that she considered art writing an art in itself. Besides this, excerpts from my entry were read aloud to the attendees. I have never been so thrilled as to hear my words come from someone who doesn’t know me, has never seen me, but who connected with my description of what is a painfully relevant work. On the whole, I am very glad to have participated. If I had been told that I would be rewarded only for doing what I love, I would have done it sooner, and I encourage interested pupils in Year 10 and above to do the same.

From September 16th 2024, my entry will be available to read on the Art UK website.