FHS students enter prestigious Anthea Bell Translation Prize

Students at FHS recently took part in the prestigious Anthea Bell Translation Prize, a UK-wide creative translation competition for students aged 11–18.

The prize honours the legacy of Anthea Bell OBE (1936–2018), one of the most celebrated and influential literary translators of the 20th and 21st centuries. She is best known for bringing works such as the Asterix comics and the novels of W. G. Sebald to English-speaking audiences.

Launched in 2020 by the Translation Exchange at The Queen’s College, University of Oxford, the competition aims to promote language learning and inspire creativity in Modern Foreign Languages. Students are encouraged to creatively translate authentic texts including poetry, fiction, non-fiction, and folktales, balancing accuracy with literary flair.

The competition offers a variety of levels across French, German, Spanish, Italian, Mandarin and Russian, as well as a French–Welsh category. Students are also able to submit entries in more than one language and at more than one level.

Entries are judged by professional literary translators alongside Oxford undergraduates. Winners are selected at both Area and National level and receive certificates and book prizes. Although the results will not be announced until next month, all participating FHS students have already received participation certificates in recognition of their hard work and creativity.

Sharon Barnes, Joint Head of Languages, was delighted to see students embracing the challenge across a range of languages and levels.

“This competition has enabled students to demonstrate both their language skills and creative interpretations of the texts. There was a lot of excitement when the competition launched, and it was a pleasure to read all of the entries. I also enjoyed hearing students compare each other’s translations, which provoked great discussion about how a German poem could be interpreted in more than one way.”