Department buzzed with success recently as host of the Northern regional final for the national Translation Bee competition. Organised by Routes into Languages, which promotes the take-up of languages through cooperation between universities, schools and colleges in England, the competition aimed at Years 8 and 9 students is now in its 8^th year. It continues on from similar initiatives for earlier year groups with a Primary Bee for Years 5 and 6 and a Spelling Bee for Year 7s, which aims at helping to practice and improve foreign language skills from a young age.

48 young linguists from across the North of England, chosen from an initial 2459 participants, competed in French, German, and Spanish heats to select the top 5 in each language going through to the national final in Cambridge in July. With only one minute to translate as many sentences as possible into their target language, the students had to show off a range of skills, including vocabulary, pronunciation, memory, verb conjugation, tenses, and sentence formation. Cheered on by a large number of accompanying teachers and supporters, the competitors demonstrated astounding speed and accuracy in their on-the-spot translations into the target languages. The team of multilingual judges and callers were delighted to be a part of this special event and ensured everyone's performance was evaluated professionally. Visitors also enjoyed tours of the Lancaster University campus provided by our wonderful student ambassadors.

Derek Hird, Head of the Department of Languages and Cultures, said of the competition:

“The students were all just incredible! It was inspiring to see how enthusiastic the students are about languages. The competition gives the students an opportunity to develop lots of useful transferable and generic skills, while also being fun and social at the same time. I'm sure all competitors will have gained more confidence in their language ability.”

Congratulations to all who took part and good luck to those participating in the national final!