Language Champions quiz at the University of York

On the 30th of June, the Dept. of Language and Linguistic Science at the University of York welcomed 100 pupils from 14 schools to campus to celebrate the end of the online Language Champions quiz. Over the course of 5 weeks, teams of French, German and Spanish pupils from 38 schools completed a series of weekly factual, language and linguistics tasks based on the theme of the Olympics. As well as answering questions, teams were challenged to use their language skills to devise new sports, posters, captions and chants in French, German or Spanish and to reflect on the way they use and acquire language in a series of linguistic tasks designed to examine loanwords, pronunciation, rhythm and fluency. The judges were impressed by the high quality of entries received and in particular the linguistic ability and creativity of pupils. A massive congratulations to the overall winners of the quiz: Caedmon College Whitby took the gold medal, with Sheffield High and Derby High taking the silver and bronze medals respectively. A special congratulations also goes out to the winners of the individual language and linguistics categories: All Saints RC School (Best Overall French, Best Overall Linguistics), Derby High (Best Overall German) and Balby Carr Academy (Best Overall Spanish).