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We were delighted to learn that a University Â鶹¾«Ñ¡ Sixth Form student, Ana, was in the Schools Laureate Post-16 category in the translation competition. Ana translated a poem from Romanian, ‘Rondelul rozelor ce mor’, by Alexandru Macedonski. The title of Ana’s translation is ‘Rondel of the Dying Roses’. Another student, Rithicka, received a special commendation in the Lower School category.

Mrs L. Holleran, University Â鶹¾«Ñ¡ School Subject Lead for Languages, received an Outstanding Teacher Commendation for her work on translation and that of the department of Modern Foreign Languages.

Mrs Holleran explained that students were inspired to submit their work for the competition after taking part in poetry translation workshops offered by the Stephen Spender Trust in the autumn of 2023. The workshops were funded by a University Â鶹¾«Ñ¡ Impact Acceleration Award led by Dr Emma Wagstaff, Associate Professor in the University Â鶹¾«Ñ¡ Department of Modern Languages. Dr Wagstaff also chose poems to be included in which is now a translation resource on the Stephen Spender Trust website. Some of the poems were paired with artworks to explore the relationship between texts and images.

Dr Wagstaff said: ‘Translation as a creative activity helps bring language learning to life and I was so pleased to hear that the students enjoyed the workshops and that some chose to enter the competition. It was wonderful to work with the Stephen Spender Trust and with the dedicated staff at University Â鶹¾«Ñ¡ School.’

We congratulate Mrs Holleran and the students from University Â鶹¾«Ñ¡ School on this fantastic achievement and wish them well as they continue to explore poetry and translation.