This year, Spanish and German students in Years 9, 10 and 12 from Gosforth Academy took part in the Anthea Bell Prize for Young Translators, a national translation competition run by the Queen’s Translation Exchange at the University of Oxford.  

The Anthea Bell Prize, named in honour of the celebrated Asterix translator, is an annual competition open to secondary school students. A record-breaking 25,000 pupils from 532 schools across the UK took part in the 2026 competition, defying the national downturn in language learning. Now in its sixth year, the event saw participation surge again this year, cementing its status as the largest creative translation competition for young people in the country. 

• Julian L and Sidi D were runners up in the UK-wide category for their German translation as well as being area winners for the North East. 
• Rachel D Spanish translation was highly commended by judges. 
• Mani F Spanish translation was an area winner for the North East. 

Spanish teacher Ms Guillen said: “This is a huge achievement and recognition of the hard work, motivation and commitment shown by our students in the Modern Foreign Languages Department. I hope this success will inspire other students in their language learning. I am extremely proud!” 

German teacher Ms Schneider commented: “It’s fantastic to see our students embracing the chance to translate authentic texts creatively into English and competing successfully at regional and national level. Huge congratulations to our winners!” 

The names of all winning and commended students have been published by Oxford University via the Anthea Bell website Anthea Bell Prize 2026: Winners and Commendees - The Queen's College, Oxford .