Three pupils at Gladstone Primary Academy, part of Thomas Deacon Education Trust (TDET), were excited to win first, second and third places in the Spanish Bee National Final at Cambridge University this month.
The competition, which is held each July, challenges Year 5 and 6 pupils’ language skills. Pupils must translate as many words and phrases as they can into either French, Spanish or German, and are evaluated on their pronunciation as well as the number of words they can translate in a minute.
Over 1,200 pupils had entered the competition this year from across the country and the Grand Final was between 31 pupils. Six of these were pupils from Gladstone Primary Academy, who travelled to Cambridge for the final.
All six Gladstone Primary Academy pupils went through to the semi-final, with three Year 6 pupils going through to the final out of the four places available. After tying in competition for first place, a fast tie-breaking round was held - with Fatima winning first place, Amnah winning second place and Khadijah coming third.
Carlota Camara, Subject Development Lead for Spanish and Spanish teacher at Gladstone Primary Academy, said: “We are so proud of our three winners, who worked incredibly hard for this competition. To win, not just first place but also second and third places, is an exceptional achievement and Fatima, Amnah and Khadijah performed brilliantly.
“This is the third year running students from Gladstone Primary Academy have won this competition, which is phenomenal and highlights the value we place on learning languages. The children really enjoy their language classes and practised hard for this competition.”
Simon Martin, Headteacher at Gladstone Primary Academy, said: “Winning this national competition for three years running is a superb achievement. Our pupils gave very strong performances throughout the competition and were congratulated on their immaculately native pronunciation.
“Languages are an integral part of the curriculum at our academy. Our pupils enjoy learning them and entering competitions such as the Spanish Bee gives them immense pride. Their language skills are also great to take forward into their future lives. Well done to all our pupils who worked so hard for this competition, we’re so proud of you all.”
To find out more about Gladstone Primary Academy, please visit www.gpa.education.