Category Archives: Spanish

SPANISH FLASH FICTION 2024: The Highly Commended Entries (Y10-11)

Following the publication of the winning and runner up entries, we are excited to present the highly commended entries for the Year 10-11 category of this year’s Spanish Flash Fiction competition!

A huge well done to all our highly commended entrants! Without further ado, ¡venga, vamos!

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La luz lila tranquila de madrugada brilla e ilumina cada vez más la ciudad llena de casas blanquísimas y desparejadas. Una medialuna de palmeras guarda la orilla rocosa. Agarro mi tabla de surf, mirando las olas siguientes. La sal pica mis ojos y se pega a mi piel. Alga dispersa flota en la superficie del mar cristalino.
El pulso paulatino de la marea sube y baja como un latido. La escucho antes de verla, corriendo hacía mí. Comienzo a remar mientras se eleva encima de mí como un aguila adalberti, sus alas extendidas. Y yo también empiezo a volar.

– Sophie Lonsdale, Year 10

El tentempié

Me siento en una rama mientras me despido de mi hermano y desayuno. El sol me calienta suavemente y admiro contentamente el cielo del verano. De repente, una nube gris, blanca y furiosa llena mi vista, ¡y se acerca a mí muy rápidamente! Tengo mucho miedo y salto atrás, pero ahora caigo sin control hacia la tierra debajo – mis ojos se abren de par en par, ¡estoy aterrorizada! Entonces, en un instante, todo termina. La nube se abate sobre mí y me aprisiona entre sus garras. Y aquí estoy, un tentempié para una gaviota, una pobre mariquita, olvidada para siempre.

– Siri Krznaric, Year 10

El silencio

Silencio.
Un silencio desconcertante invadió el paisaje, paralizando cualquier signo de vida. Abatido por el peso de la pérdida, un hombre reflexionaba en silencio. Parecía una estatua de tristeza, indistinguible del silencio que lo envolvía.
Internamente, un campo de batalla: emociones chocaron; eventualmente las garras despiadadas del dolor lo destruyeron.

La luz del sol, desesperada por consolarlo, quedó aprisionada en el agarre asfixiante de la niebla rencorosa, reducida a un resplandor que palpitaba como un tumor bilioso. Las montañas apáticas sólo podían observarlo. Nada ayudó; nada podría devolverle su amor a sus brazos una vez más.

Finalmente, lloró, rompiendo el silencio.

– Tiana Majumder, Year 10

Bajo el Cielo de Azufre: Viaje a través de la Desolación

El mundo se oscureció como si alguien hubiera accionado un interruptor. El silencio era ensordecedor, como si todo sonido hubiera sido absorbido. Era como si el gas del celo tuviera vida propia, vaporizando todo a su paso -desde edificios altísimos hasta carreteras interminables-nada se salvó. Las llamas arremetían contra las estructuras, cambiando de dirección sin previo aviso, y me encontré en la línea de fuego. Corrí deprisa, atravesando los andrajosos alrededores y llegando a tiempo a un búnker seguro para escapar de las llamas tóxicas. Pero esto no fue más que un espasmo pútrido.

– Artharv Kokate, Year 10

Mi abuela durmiendo.

Veo su cara arrugada en paz y durmiendo. Cada línea de la historia de su vida. Se mueve ligeramente y me imagino su juventud. Las líneas alrededor de su boca son reminiscencias, risas. Las de sus ojos son de exploración y aprendizaje. Un rayo de sol brilla sobre ella, está bendecida. Su piel es sabia pero suave y tierna como su corazón. Su corazón es amable y cariñoso, late lentamente en su pecho mientras descansa. Canta al amor y se lamenta del desamor. La veo, mi abuela dormida.

– Chloe Skelton, Year 11

Hola. Soy yo. El que viste hoy. El que ignoraste. Te miré fijamente. Te lo he rogado. Estaba desesperado y aún así elegiste dejarme. Me estoy muriendo a tus pies y no te importa. Solía ser como tú, ¿sabes? Mirando hacia otro lado para no sentirme culpable. Dejando caer unos centavos para poder irme a casa orgulloso. Pero no necesito centavos, necesito comida, refugio, alguien con quien hablar. Un amigo.

– River Lee, Year 10

EL TEATRO

«La doma de la esposa regañona» fue un gran éxito.

Pero a Billy Shakespeare se le ordenó ver a la reina Bess.

“Maestro Shakespeare, no estábamos contentos. Podemos demostrar que aquí las esposas no molestan a sus maridos”, afirmó la reina.

Esa noche, se pidió a cientos de campesinos que se reunieran fuera del foso.

“Cualquiera que tenga miedo de su mujer, que venga al agua”, gritó la Reina.

Sólo un hombre flaco se mantuvo alejado.

“¡Bravo!” dijo la Reina.

“Estoy resfriado. Mi mujer me ordenó que no me acercara al agua”, se disculpó tímidamente el hombre flaco, tosiendo.

– Kumar Banerji Ballester, Year 11

Emergiendo de la oleada de zarzas, aquellas familiares verjas de ébano inquietantes le sobrepasaron. Limpiándose el sudor de la frente, Luis suspiró antes de proceder. Evitando las ramas caídas y vadeando por la hierba crecida, atravesó por los escombros. Las briznas mojadas rozaban contra sus piernas desnudas, adentrándolo mas en el bosque. Elevando su vista, a las nubes amenazantes, el día borrascoso lo capturó cuando repentinamente la lluvia comenzó a caer. Luis probó la sal de su sudor mientras las gotas afiladas caían a raudales por su cara y por su lengua y despegó su camiseta empapada de su pecho. 

– Annabel Hogan, Year 10

El interior de la visera empezó a condensarse restringiendo mi visión. Esto suponía un problema: significaba que mi soporte vital tenía poca batería. Me estremecí ante la idea de ahogarme en silencio y seguí saltando por la arena roja. Todavía no estaba acostumbrado a la baja gravedad y, cada vez que me abalanzaba hacia delante, me sentía mal. ¿Quién podría estar detrás de esto? ¿Quién había saboteado la nave espacial? Contemplé el horizonte vacío, sin nadie que pudiera responder a mis preguntas. Tenía que regresar a la colonia de alguna manera. El programa de Marte había fracasado, todos habíamos fracasado.

– Jonathan Visan-Gherghe, Year 11

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¡Felicidades a todos!

SPANISH FLASH FICTION 2024: The Highly Commended Entries (Y7-9)

Following the publication of the winning and runner up entries, we are excited to present the highly commended entries for the Year 7-9 category of this year’s Spanish Flash Fiction competition!

A huge well done to all our highly commended entrants! Without further ado, ¡venga, vamos!

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En un abarrotado desfile en Delhi, entre el parloteo, las risas y el caos general, no pensé que nada pudiera arruinar este día. Había fuegos artificiales y color hasta donde alcanzaba la vista. Dos grandes y voluminosos elefantes se unieron a la cola del desfile. Cuando las luces intermitentes y los estruendos se apoderaron de todos, uno de los elefantes, abrumado por todo lo que le rodeaba, cargó a trompicones contra la multitud. Ese día muchos resultaron heridos o algo peor, ese día mi vida nunca volvió a ser la misma, ese día se apagó nuestro festival de la luz…

– Keira Moyes, Year 7

Melodía de susurros: El Conductor de la Verdad en las Noches Noir

En un oscuro callejón de Río de Janeiro, los billetes cambiaban de manos, sellando un trato con promesas susurradas.

La atmósfera de los noventa resonaba con intriga colombiana: ritmos palpitantes, susurros clandestinos. El detective, en el balcón de un apartamento abarrotado. En medio de la noche húmeda, un crimen fermentaba, tiñendo el aire de incertidumbre.

Decidido, recorrió callejones laberínticos en busca de justicia en la jungla de asfalto. Cada paso, una danza con el peligro. En la sinfonía nocturna de Río, él era el director de la verdad, orquestando la resolución, nota a nota.

– Zara Amjad, Year 9

En la oscura noche, Marta caminaba sola por un antiguo bosque. Sus pasos resonaban, pero algo más también lo hacía. Un susurro sutil y escalofriante la envolvía. Ignorándolo, llegó a una mansión abandonada. Puertas crujían abriéndose solas. Mientras exploraba, sombras danzaban a su alrededor. Un espejo reveló una figura sin rostro detrás de ella. El susurro creció en un grito helado. Corrió, pero la mansión se retorcía, pasillos interminables la atrapaban. Finalmente, la figura sin rostro emergió. Marta despertó, sola en su habitación. Pero el susurro persistió, y en el espejo, la figura seguía sin rostro.

– Avy Abdulrazzaq, Year 7

En la bulliciosa ciudad de Polyglot, cada lengua confería poderes especiales. Criada por lingüistas, Lexa dominaba más de cincuenta idiomas diversos. El francés le dio telequinesis, el japonés le dio invisibilidad, el ruso le dio el poder del tiempo y el árabe le dio curación. En un día sombrío, descubrió un complot siniestro que amenazaba el equilibrio entre el lenguaje y el poder. Utilizando su arsenal lingüístico, emprendió una búsqueda para salvar la ciudad de fuerzas malévolas mientras estaba decidida a salvaguardar la coexistencia única de su extraordinario mundo multilingüe.

– Ayomide Adesola, Year 7

Siempre te recuerdo

Recuerdo cuánto te gustaban las puestas de sol. Recuerdo tus ojos, el vórtice verde que me atraía. Recuerdo tu sonrisa, que iluminaba no solo la habitación, sino el mundo, mi mundo. Recuerdo tus palabras, siempre pronunciadas en voz tan baja que era difícil saber si sufrías. Recuerdo tus abrazos, los cálidos abrazos que dabas aunque nunca recibías uno a cambio. Siempre te recordaré aunque lamento no haberte visto más profundamente de lo que mostrabas, eras mi mundo, eres mi mundo. Me quedo despierta para poder seguir viéndote en los atardeceres, sentir tu cálido abrazo, cómo iluminas el mundo, mi mundo.

– Chloe Lei, Year 9

Sus gritos de ayuda resonaron en la isla solitaria, ahogados por una fuerte ráfaga de viento. El trueno retumbó. Lightning se rió. El mar arremolinado se agitaba y deploraba, estrellándose y estrellándose contra la escarpada pared del acantilado, casi representando lo que estaba sucediendo en el interior. Sabía que él sería el principal sospechoso. Las autoridades no se atreverían a acusarlo de la verdad: se estaba ahogando en dinero en efectivo y, además, suministraba lo esencial a la isla principal. Si quería dar marcha atrás, ya era demasiado tarde. Sus crueles, despiadado manos ya estaban goteando un inocente líquido bermellón…

– Amelie Thompson, Year 7

El Hombre Misterioso

Lo persigo mientras salta por los tejados, cualquiera que esté desde abajo vislumbra su silueta bailando bajo la luz del sol naciente. Las chimeneas se estrellan violentamente a su lado y las tejas se deslizan bajo sus pies. Los helicόpteros lo envuelven con su radiante luz solar, el viento pulsante de los motores lo hace perder el equilibrio con sorprendente facilidad. Se cae sin querer y se agarra a un tubo de desagüe. Se oían voces distantes, voces preocupadas, como si algo estuviera mal. Sabía que esta era su oportunidad de escapar. Ahora había desaparecido; ¿nadie sabía quién era ni a donde iba, pero lo sabrían en el futuro?

– Harry Clogger, Year 9

Junior: “¡Tú no eres Carmen!”
Ana: “No… Soy Ana. Salgo con tu padre…”
Junior: “¡Soy Junior!”
Ana: “Hola, Junior. Miguel, tu padre está en el baño.“
Ana: “Y… ¿Carmen está aquí a menudo?”
Junior: “¡Sí! Ellos hablan todas las mañanas.”
Ana: “¿Ella está aquí en la mañana?… ¿Como es Carmen?”
Junior: “Bueno, me gusta Carmen, pero habla demasiado. ¡Pero mi padre la quiere mucho!”
Ana: “¿¡La quiere!? ¡Tu padre no puede tener dos novias!”
Ana se va. Miguel sale del baño.
Miguel: “¿Dónde está Ana?”
Junior: “No está contento con Carmen.“
Miguel: “¡Ay, no! ¡Ana! ¡Carmen es nuestro lora!”

– Zeynep Yesilirmak, Year 7

No veo nada, estoy rodeado de paredes negras. Tengo sed y hambre, intentó encontrar una salida para escapar, sigo la luz. Gritos de odios de una multitud me rodean, como si todos me odiaran. Pero de repente todo se silencia y se escucha una voz. Veo un trozo de tela roja dirigiéndose hacía mí , no sé qué está pasando, me golpea de lado a lado, engañándome , hasta sentirme mareado, como si dieras vueltas por horas. Los gritos regresan y lo que solo puedo sentir es dolor. Me entra el pánico, caigo al suelo y veo mis cuernos manchados de sangre.

– Keira De Castro, Year 7

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¡Felicidades a todos!

SPANISH FLASH FICTION 2024: THE RUNNERS UP

We’re delighted to publish the runner up entries for this year’s Spanish Flash Fiction competition. We’ll be publishing the highly commended entries for both French and Spanish in each age category over the coming weeks.

YEARS 7-9 RUNNERS UP

La Locura

La locura es invisible, es los parásitos que cavan en mi piel, es el cabello sin cuidar. La locura se aferra a mí, fusionándose conmigo, saturándome hasta que no soy nada más que la tortura de una mente llena de ideas y el miedo a no ser escuchada nunca. ¿Alguna vez has abierto tu boca, con nada que viene pero un susurro ronco, audible solo para ti? Estoy atrapado, encerrado dentro de las barreras de mi propia mente, ahogado dentro de mi propia impotencia, dejado solo con fragmentos de esperanza tan irregulares que sostenerlo es dañar. Esto es la locura.

– Chloe Crowther, Year 8

La sombra de los cuervos bailaba con orgullo
Los pájaros volaban con las nubes marfil al amanecer
Los peces se deslizaban por el agua zafiro
Niños jugaban en la playa
La salinidad del mar impregnaba mi nariz

Las lechuzas posaban sobre los árboles
Ardillas volaban de rama en rama
Las serpientes reptaban a través de la densa vegetación
Los árboles se mecían con el caluroso viento

Los animales corrían en estampida escapando del caos
Las olas rompían entre sí
Ciudades se desmoronaban como una casa de naipes
Se escuchaba el terror en los gritos
El mundo llegaba a su fin.

– Donatella Ferrito Innamorato, Year 8

YEARS 10-11 RUNNERS UP

Sísifo Sorprendido

En su colina solitaria en el infierno, Sísifo ruge. La roca se hunde en su piel desnuda, su sudor rojizo recorre su columna mientras la carga de nuevo colina arriba. Quizás es la definitiva.

Las llamas lamen su alma, carbonizándola más negra que el humo plomizo. Aunque, cada vez que la roca se desploma, Sísifo vuelve a levantarse. Se burló de los dioses dos veces, por qué no tres?

Milagrosamente, la pendiente se nivela. Alcanza la cima.

Gritando de alegría a los dioses, brinca y ríe!

Mientras que la roca rueda hacía abajo por el otro lado de la colina.

– DingDing Zhou, Year 11

La Gran Guerra

El mar y el cielo estaban en guerra. Fue una batalla de belleza violenta. El mar envía olas tan ambiciosas como el sueño de un niño. El cielo soltó más granizo del que incluso Poseidón podía imaginar. Y ahí estábamos, subiendo a la montaña rusa española, aferrándose para no ser absorbido por la guerra. Finalmente, el mar reveló la bandera blanca al ver la estrategia final del cielo, el arcoíris. La belleza de la naturaleza superó toda violencia cuando los rayos del sol brillaron a través de la lluvia en un caleidoscopio de colores danzantes. Había encontrado mi nuevo amor

– Xander McComb, Year 11

YEARS 12-13 RUNNERS UP

Mi almohada.

Desde pequeño, mi almohada siempre estuvo conmigo para darme descanso y consejo después de un largo día abatido por tantas nuevas emociones. Daba consuelo a mis lágrimas, al empezar a conocer mi cuerpo y sentimientos, cuando más lo necesitaba en mi adolescencia, ella se mantuvo conmigo . Y aunque con la edad conocí los miedos y dolores de la vida, ella aún sigue aquí. Ella me ha dado paz, reposo, alivio y consejo. Pero cuando me levanto, cuando despego mi cabeza de sus suaves caricias, el terror de una nueva pesadilla me persigue. Madre, no quiero que te vayas…

– Daniel Enrique Ascencio Lopez, Year 13

El regalo de una nueva lengua

Borges se sienta, mirando hacia el oscuro vacío. Está aprendiendo el inglés antiguo.

Poco a poco, las palabras empiezan a llenar la oscuridad, formando un paisaje extranjero y quimérico. Las palabras hablan entre sí; bailan el tango al compás de un bandoneón. Forman equipos. Se convierten en ladrillos, casas, museos, ríos, cascadas, montañas, océanos. Las palabras han construido un mundo nuevo.

Todavía está ciego, pero ahora tiene nuevos ojos para experimentar una vida nueva paralela

– Aidan Brooke, Year 12

¡Felicidades a todos!

SPANISH FLASH FICTION 2024: THE WINNERS

We’re delighted to publish the winning entries for this year’s Spanish Flash Fiction competition. We’ll be publishing the runner up and highly commended entries for both languages in each age category over the coming weeks.

Thank you and huge congratulations to everyone who entered. The Spanish judging panel were extremely impressed with all the entries we received this year (over 640 of them!), and commented the following about the competition:

As always, we were captivated by the creativity of the many entries and thrilled to see a lot of very promising stories. It was a hard job choosing from so many markedly different pieces, some of which were humorous or haunting, serious or silly, but all entertaining. This year, there were quite a few that engaged intertextually with other works in English and Spanish literature as well as classical literature and myth and it was particularly good to see how your wider reading has been channelled into your own imaginative responses to the sources.

Without further ado, here are the stories! We hope you enjoy reading them as much as the judges did.

YEARS 7-9 WINNER

Photo by Joyce Hankins on Unsplash

Esperando en un estante

Soy más que páginas y tinta; soy un recipiente de posibilidades infinitas. Una vez abierto, llevo a los lectores en viajes más allá de sus sueños más salvajes. Cada palabra es una pincelada, pintando mundos vibrantes y personajes intrincados. A veces siento lágrimas manchando mis páginas y risas resonando a través de mi columna. Soy apreciado y amado por muchos, y aunque mi columna se ha doblado muchas veces, me mantengo en tacto. A medida que el sol se pone, espero pacientemente en el estante, esperando a que los dedos curiosos lleguen una vez más.

– Sayuri Bansal, Year 8

YEARS 10-11 WINNER

Photo by Bud Helisson on Unsplash

+4.25. Mi receta. No es terrible. No es buena. Podría ser peor. Moderada – me dicen. Me ofrecen gafas grandes y potentes. Pero ¿qué pasa si no quiero ver con claridad? Retrocediendo a la seguridad de mi humor vítreo, protegido por los guardias de mi esclerótica que agarran sus lanzas de músculos ciliares, prefiero imaginar un mundo 4.25 millones de veces mejor que aquel en el que vivo: donde la bondad no es borrosa por la avaricia, donde las visiones del futuro son alegres, donde mi sueño de armonía mundial no es tan hipermétrope como mi vista.

– Charlotte Jory, Year 11

YEARS 12-13 WINNER

Somos arqueólogos

Photo by Iulia Mihailov on Unsplash

Es cierto que somos arqueólogos. Nos enterramos bajo la superficie como si estuviéramos esperando a ver quién levantará las rocas para encontrarnos. Somos rompecabezas para que la persona adecuada nos resuelva. Un acertijo o quizás una ciudad perdida a alguna parte del océano hermoso. Los escritores alimentan a sus lectores con metáforas y convierten palabras en cajas relucientes. Una urraca creería que son perfectas para su colección, pero el verdadero regalo está dentro. Sólo para aquellos que cavan. Incluso si solo estás de pie bajo la lluvia, delante de ella, buscando las palabras correctas para decir. Estás buscando. Siempre buscando.

– Isobel Gurnett, Year 12

¡Felicidades a todos los ganadores!

2024 Flash Fiction Competition Results

In December 2023, we launched our annual Flash Fiction competitions, which closed at the end of March. The competitions were open to students in Years 7 to 13, who were tasked with writing a short story of no more than 100 words in French and/or Spanish.

We had an incredible response, with entries coming in from all areas across the country! In total, we received over 1200 submissions across the two languages!

We would like to thank everyone who entered the competition and commend you all for your hard work and creativity in writing a piece of fiction in a different language. This is a challenging exercise, and a significant achievement – congratulations all!

We are delighted to be able to announce the winners, runners up, and highly commended entries for each language below. We will be publishing the stories over the summer so you can read them for yourselves.

French

In the Years 7-9 category, the winner is James Best. The runners-up are Zaynab Chaudhry and Simeon Molloy.

The judges also identified the following entrants as highly commended: Neela Alagar, Nicholas Bailey, Prayaan Sharma, Hassan Chaudhry, Grace Cao, Helene Leonard, Antoine Carmody-Portier, Bo Celeste Lawson, Vishnu Vardhan, Beemu Padmanaban, and Louis Koller.

In the Years 10-11 category, the winner is Tony Shi. The runner up is Vaishni Jeyananthan.

The judges also identified the following entrants as highly commended: Mia Wildgoose, Nia Mohlala, Ritisha Agarwal, Capree Chong, Eshaal Riaz, DingDing Zhou, Daisy Apfel, Darwin Armstrong Farr, Lucy Nguyen, and Katya Hanbury.

In the Years 12-13 category, the winner is Hannah Gleeson. The runner ups are Zac Henderson-Lea and Ashley Woo.

The judges also identified the following entrants as highly commended: Nigelle Niyodusenga, Massimo Mitchell, Rain Kaur, Grace Dobson, Harriet Palfreyman, Aaron Butters, Eleanor McQuinn, Caitlin Graeff, Sally Codling, and Jovian Yan.

The French judging panel were very impressed with this year’s submitted stories, and commented the following about all the entries:

We are thrilled to share our excitement about the entries for the 2024 Flash Fiction competition. A heartfelt thank you to everyone who participated and contributed to the competition!

We were impressed by the variety in your stories and by how much emotion and detail could be packed into just 100 words. Your stories made us laugh, gasp, reflect, and sometimes even tear up. We read tales that spanned from light-hearted daily occurrences to epic medieval duels and forbidden werewolf romances, from futuristic visions of 2050 to unexpected encounters with demon snowmen and talking ants. We encountered characters from all walks of life and visited settings that ranged from the familiar to the extraordinary. Along the way, we met a crocodile in the Thames, a sentient piece of bread, and many other memorable figures that made your stories so engaging.

We truly enjoyed reading your stories and want to commend each of you for your creativity and effort. Thank you for making this competition such a wonderful experience, and congratulations to all of you.

Spanish

In the Years 7-9 category, the winner is Sayuri Bansal. The runners up are Chloe Crowther and Donatella Ferrito Innamorato.

The judges also identified the following entrants as highly commended: Keira Moyes, Zara Amjad, Avy Abdulrazzaq, Ayomide Adesola, Chloe Lei, Amelie Thompson, Harry Clogger, Zeynep Yesilirmak, and Keira De Castro.

In the Years 10-11 category, the winner is Charlotte Jory. The runners up are DingDing Zhou and Xander McComb.

The judges also identified the following entrants as highly commended: Sophie Lonsdale, Siri Krznaric, Tiana Majumder, Atharv Kokate, Chloe Skelton, Anonymous, River Lee, Kumar Banerji Ballester, Annabel Hogan, and Jonathan Visan-Gherghe.

In the Years 12-13 category, the winner is Isobel Gurnett. The runners up are Daniel Enrique Ascencio Lopez and Aidan Brooke.

The judges also identified the following entrants as highly commended: Maria-Magdalena Covasa, Nihika Koranne, Noor Ullah, Oliver John, Rabia Chowdhury, Sadie Greenwood, Anonymous, Sophie Welberry-Smith, Valentino Ordonez Imafidon, and Velislava Koleva.

Our Spanish judging panel in particular have been extremely impressed with this year’s entries, and have commented the following about all the stories they read:

As always, we were captivated by the creativity of the many entries and thrilled to see a lot of very promising stories. It was a hard job choosing from so many markedly different pieces, some of which were humorous or haunting, serious or silly, but all entertaining. This year, there were quite a few that engaged intertextually with other works in English and Spanish literature as well as classical literature and myth and it was particularly good to see how your wider reading has been channelled into your own imaginative responses to the sources.

Huge congratulations everyone – you should be very proud of your achievement!

An experience of a lifetime in Argentina

On the blog this week, one of our final year French & Spanish students tells us all about their experience of being an English Language Assistant in two Argentinian schools…

As part of my year abroad, I spent five months in Argentina taking in the beautiful setting, learning a new kind of Spanish and meeting some lifelong friends. I was quite keen to push myself and make the most of the opportunity to go abroad so going to South America was definitely on the top of my list. After having applied to some other programs and been unsuccessful, I found an experience which offered the possibility of teaching English in school. The thought of being placed in ANY part of Argentina (the eighth biggest country worldwide with one of the most varied climates) meant that I was excited yet also nervous about what could lie ahead.

During my time in Argentina, I worked with two institutions in the Buenos Aires province which both offered unique experiences! I stayed at my first institution for two months and it was an amazing private school with some equally incredible teachers. The best thing was being able to share my culture with others as well as form a rapport with the children that I taught.

During my first placement, I had the pleasure to live with a wonderful host family who made me feel welcome despite the fact that I am naturally quite shy and introverted and they were always willing to help me with my Spanish, share their culture and take me in as one of their own. My arrival began with being invited to a quince (a fifteenth birthday party) which was overwhelming yet it meant that I soon made friends. The welcoming and kind-hearted nature of the people meant that I was invited on many outings, meals out and drank a lot of mate (a drink which has the same cultural prestige as a cup of tea in England).

The second institution that I worked with was in a small town of 5000 people in the countryside and whilst I did the same activities in regards to sharing my culture and teaching classes, I had a whole host of new experiences. I lived with two fantastic families who welcomed me as one of their own. Something I still miss to this day is the tasty soup and desserts that were made by Hebe! A memory that I will never forget is that I taught students the moves to the cha-cha slide and the Superman song. Whilst there were times that I missed home, these times were few and far between. I am extremely thankful to have met my supervisor as well as to have had the opportunity to go on outings with different families and of course, drink more mate! I still keep in touch with my supervisor and friends I made there and I hope to visit them again someday.

During my free time, I was able to organise my own travel around Argentina. My favourite trip definitely had to be visiting Iguazú Falls in the north of Argentina which definitely was a sight to behold! I frequently visited Buenos Aires and marvelled at what the city had to offer. Whilst there were some anxieties about being in Argentina as a result of cultural differences and general feelings of homesickness which comes with any experience abroad, I always had support around me whilst I was there and knew that I could contact my tutors back in Oxford in the face of any problems.

My advice to anyone considering a degree in Modern Languages is to go for it and make the most of the year abroad! The opportunity to further develop your cultural knowledge through literature alongside the different options available for going abroad is something I will always be grateful for. If you had asked me when I first started my degree whether I would have travelled to Argentina alone, met amazing people and have done the cha-cha slide with students in a small town in Argentina, I would have thought you were crazy. However, that’s something that became a reality and now a fond memory and, I am looking forward to going back one day.

Spotlight on Spanish: Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz (1648-1695)

This week’s blog post is written by one of our wonderful student ambassadors, a finalist in French and Spanish. Enjoy!

Before coming to Oxford, if you asked me about feminism, I wouldn’t have been able to tell you a lot other than about the suffragette movement and movements in the 1970s and 80s. However, one of the most rewarding and unexpected things that I have discovered since studying at Oxford is that feminism goes a lot further back than I had ever thought.

As part of my degree in Spanish, I had the opportunity to choose an ‘author paper’ that I would study over my second and final year. This is where you pick two authors and get to know a variety of their works in depth. Having enjoyed studying El médico de su honra by Calderón (a celebrated Spanish playwright) in my first year, I decided to pick a paper which focuses on the golden age (siglo de oro). I continued my studies on Calderón however, I was delighted to find that there was a female author on the syllabus (which is largely male-dominated as a result of contemporary attitudes of the time): Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz. Although her works are known to provide some challenges with sentence structure and philosophy, I can firmly say that I am glad I took these challenges on.

Sor Juana was born in Mexico and had a desire to learn from a young age. As a result of the misogynistic attitudes of the time, she was unable to attend school. Despite this, she begged her mother to attend but disguised as a male student yet it wasn’t enough. Sor Juana was educated at home and during that time, she learnt how to read and write in Latin by the age of three and in Nahuatl (an Aztec language), she became well-versed in philosophy and wrote an array of poems.

Sor Juana later entered the monastery of the Hieronymite nuns which allowed her to pursue her studies with few limitations. During that time, she amassed a huge collection of books and was supported by the Viceroy and Vicereine of New Spain. The Vicereine Maria Luisa Manrique de Lara y Gonzága, Countess of Paredes was a recurring subject of her love poetry.

One of Sor Juana’s most famous poems ‘Hombres Necios’ (You foolish men) was written in the 1680s. This poem is one of my firm favourites! Published in a society that was extremely patriarchal, this poem criticises the double standards that men imposed on women and advocates the need for women to have more agency in their day-to-day lives. These double standards affected her reputation, her (sexual) freedom as well as her prospects as she would be left in situations that she could not control.

To illustrate her case, Sor Juana makes a strong argument for how double standards imposed on women aren’t just a problem of her time. Through comparing Thaïs (an independent, educated and sexually free woman who often accompanied Alexander the Great) to Lucretia (a woman who was so committed to fidelity to her husband that she killed herself after being abused by another man), Sor Juana demonstrates how there is a double expectation placed on women: they are expected to be sexually free like Thaïs before and then should completely change and be like Lucretia after entering a relationship with a man.

Whilst I have only mentioned one of Sor Juana’s poems, there are so many others that I could have delved into! For anyone who wants to further their interest in women’s writing or feminist works, I would definitely recommend Sor Juana (even if you are not studying Spanish!). There are many accessible English translations of her poetry and works available which also explore other themes such as education, love and philosophy. If you want to learn more about a subject area in general, there are so many beautiful opportunities to do so through literature. Whether it is medieval literature, seventeenth century plays or modern day poetry, there is bound to be a topic or genre that will fascinate you. Whatever the language, there is something for everyone!

Modern Languages Summer School

Applications are now open for Wadham College‘s annual five-day Modern Languages Summer School. The residential will take place at the college, based in the centre of Oxford, from 19th to 23rd August 2024.

Summer schools are designed to give UK pupils studying in Year 12 a taste of what it’s like to be an undergraduate studying at the University of Oxford.  Pupils will take part in an academic programme, live in College, meet student ambassadors studying at Oxford, and receive information, advice and guidance on applying to university. Wadham’s Summer Schools are free and the college will provide financial support to pupils to cover their travel costs.

We’re delighted to be able to run these events in-person allowing participants the best experience of life at the university.  The feedback from last year’s Summer Schools was hugely positive with over a third of participants subsequently securing offers to study at the university.

“After the summer school I am much more confident that I would fit in at Oxford and feel like I am more ready to move away from home”

Summer School participant, 2022

For Modern Languages more specifically, pupils will engage in a seminar series led by Wadham’s language tutors, including language classes in their selected language of study (French, German or Spanish) with opportunities to try other languages as beginners (including German, Portuguese and Russian). Students will complete an assignment on a main topic with feedback from tutors. Pupils will also be able to receive support from current undergraduates and from the College on making successful applications to top universities.   

For more information and to apply, click here: Wadham College Summer Schools. Pupils should be studying French, German or Spanish at A-level or equivalent to apply. Applications close at 5pm on 3rd May.

If you have any queries, please contact access@wadham.ox.ac.uk

Flash Fiction Competitions reminder!

With just two weeks to go until the deadline, there’s still a chance to enter our Flash Fiction Competitions in French and/or Spanish – don’t miss out on your chance to win £100! A reminder of the competition details and how you can enter can be found below…

Credit: Aaron Burden via Unsplash

What is Flash Fiction?

We’re looking for a complete story, written in French or Spanish, using no more than 100 words.

Did you know that the shortest story in Spanish is only seven words long?

Cuando despertó, el dinosaurio todavía estaba allí.
(When he woke up, the dinosaur was still there.)

– Augusto Monterroso Bonilla (1921-2003)

What are the judges looking for?

Our judging panel of academics will be looking for imagination and narrative flair, as well as linguistic ability and accuracy. Your use of French or Spanish will be considered in the context of your age and year group: in other words, we will not expect younger pupils to compete against older pupils linguistically. For inspiration, you can read last year’s winning entries for French here, and for Spanish here.

What do I win?

The judges will award a top prize of £100, as well as prizes of £25 to a maximum of two runners up, in each age category. Certificates will also be awarded to pupils who have been highly commended by our judges. Results as well as the winning, runner up, and highly commended stories will be published on this blog, if entrants give us permission to do so.

How do I enter?

You can submit your story via our online forms at the links below.

FrenchSpanish
Years 7-9Years 7-9
Years 10-11Years 10-11
Years 12-13Years 12-13

Click on the links to be taken to the correct submission form for your age/year group.

You may only submit one story per language but you are welcome to submit one story in French AND one story in Spanish if you learn or study both languages. Your submission should be uploaded as a Word document or PDF.

The deadline for submissions is 12 noon on Wednesday 27th March 2024.

Due to GDPR, teachers cannot enter on their students’ behalf: students must submit their entries themselves.

Please note that the competition has changed slightly this year. We are now only accepting entries from UK secondary school pupils.

If you have any questions, please check our FAQs here. If these still don’t answer your question(s), please email us at schools.liaison@mod-langs.ox.ac.uk.

Bonne chance à tous! ¡Buena suerte a todos!

UNIQ Applications still open

Every year UNIQ helps change the lives of young people, helping them to get into Oxford and other highly-selective universities. Apply now to take part!

What is UNIQ?

UNIQ is the University of Oxford’s access programme for UK state school students. It prioritises places for students with good grades from backgrounds that are under-represented at Oxford and other universities. Every year more students from diverse backgrounds get offered places at Oxford with help from UNIQ.

In terms of Modern Languages, we will be offering courses for French, Spanish and German again this year, all of which include the opportunity to taste two beginners’ languages.

UNIQ offers:

  • online support through the application process
  • a residential at an Oxford college for most participants
  • a trip to an Oxford open day for another 250 participants

UNIQ is completely free: accommodation, meals, academic courses, social activities, and travel are all included.

Every year students use their experiences on UNIQ to help inform their university choices and to make successful applications. UNIQ students who apply to Oxford have a higher rate of success than other applicants.

How to apply

UNIQ prioritises state school students with good grades from backgrounds that are under-represented at Oxford and other highly selective universities. UNIQ welcomes applications from:

  • Year 12 students from England and Wales in the first year of A level studies or equivalent
  • Year 13 students from Northern Ireland in the first year of A level studies or equivalent
  • S5 students from Scotland studying Highers or equivalent

We use criteria such as experience of being in care, eligibility for Free School Meals, and information associated with the area that you live in to prioritise who comes on UNIQ.

Find out more and apply here! Applications close at noon on 23rd January 2024.