Anthea Bell Prize for Young Translators

Who is it for?

• Students of French, German, Italian, Mandarin, Russian and Spanish in Key Stages 3-5 (ages 11-18)

When will it happen?

• Teachers can register for the prize at any point in the year. resources available from September 2024. The competition will run from 3rd February to 28th March in 2025. 
• Winners will be selected for 10 geographical areas. National winners selected for each level in each language. Area and national winners will be announced in May/June 2025.

What is the activity?

This is a translation competition which aims to promote language learning across UK and inspire creativity in MFL classroom. It is free to enter and is for students of French, German, Italian, Mandarin, Russian and Spanish in KS3-5.  In addition to competition task, teachers who register receive resources for each language on translating poetry, fiction, non-fiction for use in build-up to competition. 

Teaching packs are available in 6 languages (French, German, Italian, Mandarin, Spanish), covering all year groups at secondary school from age 11 to 18.

All those who register their interest receive teaching packs which include videos, PowerPoint presentations and worksheets.

Teaching packs for poetry translation will be circulated to registered teachers on 19 September. Fiction resources will follow after October half term, and non-fiction will be released in early January 2025. To receive these resources, register for the prize here.  

  The competition itself will run over several weeks from 3 February to 28 March 2025. Area and national winners will be announced in May or June 2025. All winners will receive certificates and national winners will receive book prizes. You can see the list of 2024 winners and commendations here.   

 There are a number of related activities run by the Queen’s Translation Exchange that teachers and pupils can participate in, details of which can be found here. 

If you have any queries regarding the competition, please contact the Translation Exchange team at translation.exchange@queens.ox.ac.uk. 

Rather than a one off event, these resources can be integrated into the year’s teaching. Before entering the competition, schools are invited to prepare your students using our free Teaching Resources.

How do I get involved?

• Teachers register interest here and will receive creative translation classroom resources in different languages selected and competition tasks here. 
• A Teacher Guide on how to run the Anthea Bell Prize competition in schools will be made available to all who register, along with teaching resources.
• Browse FAQs about the competition

Further information and links?

• The competition is inspired by the life and work of the great translator Anthea Bell. It aims to promote language learning across the UK and to inspire creativity in the classroom. By providing teachers with the tools they need to bring translation to life, it hopes to motivate more pupils to study modern foreign languages throughout their time at school and beyond.
• Click here to find out more about the competition
• Click here to find out more about Queen’s College Oxford Translation Exchange
• Click here to find out about other opportunities for schools, including International Book Club for Schools, Think Like a Linguist and the Creative Translation Ambassadors project.

Who is organising this?

Oxford University Translation Exchange run this annual competition, supported by national cultural institutions representing France, Germany, Italy, China and Spain.

Contact:  translation.exchange@queens.ox.ac.uk