Northfield Academy pupil wins top prize from Oxford University

A Northfield Academy pupil has received the prestigious Anthea Bell Prize from Oxford University for Young Translators 2024.

Named the Scottish winner of Level 2 French, Robyn Rodgers used her language skills to translate a text from French into English, using a list of vocabulary provided and a bilingual dictionary.

The S5 pupil had to make sure the English translation was not literal and made sense in English. She could not use any online translators as the text chosen was made to avoid the use of online translators.

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Over 16,000 pupils in the UK took part in the creative translation competition, which was across four levels in five languages (French, Spanish, German, Italian and Mandarin), covering all year groups at secondary school from age 11 to 18 years old.

Councillor Martin Greig, Convener of Education and Children’s Services Committee, Aberdeen City Council, said: "Well done to Robyn on her wonderful achievement.

"Learning a foreign language is a great way to learn about another cultural, develop communication skills and can lead to employment opportunities.

"By studying a foreign language at school will help encourage a lifelong interest in people from different countries, their languages and cultures."

Councillor Jessica Mennie, Vice-Convener of the Education and Children’s Services Committee, added: "I’m sure Robyn’s classmates, teachers, and the wider school community in Northfield will be very proud of Robyn’s success.

"Robyn is a great example of what hard work, commitment and enthusiasm in school can achieve. I hope her success will inspire other young people."

Tatiana Messager, a teacher at the Modern Foreign Language Department at Northfield Academy, commented: "A huge congratulations to Robyn – the winner of the Level 2 Anthea Bell French Translation prize in Scotland.

"Robyn demonstrated what commitment, hard work and dedication can achieve and we are all enormously proud of her achievement."

On her achievement, Robyn said: "I am super proud of getting this award as I've only done a National 5 in French. Thanks to my wonderful teachers for supporting me."

The Anthea Bell Prize for Young Translators is an initiative of The Queen’s College Translation Exchange, University of Oxford.

Its mission is to inspire lifelong engagement in languages and international culture. It aims to encourage young language-learners to continue with their studies through their schooling and beyond.

The competition is inspired by the life and work of the renowned translator Anthea Bell OBE (1936-2018).

A team of 22 judges, including Oxford Modern Languages undergraduates and leading professional literary translators assessed the competition entries.