Viewing archives for Languages

While his 20 fellow pupils savoured the culture of the German capital during a four-day trip – and then told their classmates about it afterwards in the local language – Year 13 pupil Amogh Somayaji enjoyed making his escape over the Berlin Wall.

His light-hearted attempt to flee – an action which could once have resulted in him being shot – came part-way through the busy trip, during which the group of senior pupils focused on Berlin’s history over the past 100 years or more.

Languages teacher Katrin Hood said: “Year 12 have a module on Berlin: we learn about the architecture of the city, its cultural and social role, and how immigration plays a part in making modern Germany. So, to experience the city’s atmosphere first-hand is wonderful.”

The group comprised mostly sixth-formers, with a small number of Year 11 boys joining them. They were accompanied by Assistant Head of Languages Burgunde Lukasser-Weitlaner, Ms Hood and Languages Assistant Corinna Illingworth.

Arriving in Berlin from London City Airport after a very early start, the boys wasted no time before setting off on the first of a number of guided walking tours.

Over the four days, their activities also included:

• Visiting the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe and the Jewish Museum
• Enjoying a boat trip, an open-air art gallery and a bowling trip
• Visiting a TV tower, going on an underground tour and seeing a nuclear fallout shelter
• Going to the (East) German Democratic Republic (DDR) museum and to the Berlin Wall
• A trip to the Reichstag (parliament building).

The groups formed from those staying in each room at the hotel had to deliver a presentation in German about a cultural highlight. Pictured is one group delivering theirs on a visit to the Treptower Park, a popular spot with Berliners, which houses the Soviet War Memorial. Each room also prepared a round for the party’s quiz night.

Year 12’s Felix Calder said: “This trip was amazing – so much history to study, some beautiful views of the city at night, and a valuable insight into German culture. So many amazing memories were made, and I hope to visit the city many more times in my life.”

During Year 12, the German A-level students watch a film, Goodbye Lenin, set around the fall of the Berlin Wall, so the trip was useful in helping them understand more about that time, Ms Hood said.

After their return via Heathrow airport, Ms Hood reflected on the four days. “What a pleasure it was to spend a few days with our wonderful students in Berlin. It was great to see them engage so fully in all of the planned activities, and to see lots of what we have already talked about in the classroom come to life.”

2024 School Captain Chanakya Seetharam relished learning about German culture, benefitted greatly from his deep dive into the language, and met many  “incredible people” – including an Old Elizabethan – during a three-week trip as a Dresden Scholar.

An A-level German student, Chanakya was nominated by the School for one of the prestigious scholarships offered by the Dresden Trust, a British charity that fosters relations with the eastern German city of Dresden. One of the greatest centres of European culture, Dresden, which is in Saxony, was destroyed by Allied bombing in February 1945.

His visit was hosted by a German family and included lessons at the St Benno-Gymnasium (a ‘Gymnasium’ is roughly equivalent to a grammar school), as well as plenty of time to explore.

In his report on his visit, Chanakya said: “My time in Dresden was simply unforgettable. I have learned so much about German culture, the German language, and have met such incredible people. Most of all, however, my experience is a testament to the profound benefits of language-learning.”

Like QE, the St Benno-Gymnasium, has a long and proud history, having been established in 1709 to educate boy choristers (‘Kapellknaben’).

“Each school year begins with a church service in the Kreuzkirche (Church of the Holy Cross) at which new students receive a model fish representing the school logo (the ichthys) to symbolise their acceptance into the school community. This year, the Year 6s were kind enough to make extra ‘Benno fish’ to be presented to the school’s exchange students. I certainly felt incredibly welcome being presented my fish at the end of a service that had otherwise been full of lovely German choral music,” he wrote.

“I also took great pleasure in noticing smaller differences between QE and school in Germany. The lack of uniform was perhaps the most immediately noticeable, but equally surprising was the discovery that chalk boards remain a common feature of classrooms across the country.

“Far from the stereotype that Germans are cold, all the students and teachers I met were incredibly lovely.”

Similarly, he greatly appreciated his host family’s “incredible warmness and openness to conversation”. He was able to talk to them about “the legacy of the GDR [German Democratic Republic – the communist east German state], life in modern Germany, and – much to my delight – German politics in the weeks leading up to Saxony’s state elections”.

Chanakya also enjoyed the reminder of home brought by 2024 QE leaver Arjun Patel. Arjun was in Dresden on his swansong tour with the National Children’s Choir of Great Britain. Chanakya attended one of his concerts at the ‘Auferstehungskirche’ (‘Church of the Resurrection’) and spoke to him afterwards.

During his free hours, he enjoyed exploring the city, especially its “gorgeous baroque church – the ‘Frauenkirche’ (‘Church of Our Lady’)”. This was rebuilt following its destruction in World War II, with the support of benefactors including the Dresden Trust

“A beautiful artistic rendering of the Old City is to be found in a painting by the Venetian artist Bernardo Bellotto often called the Canaletto-Blick,” he wrote. “I was lucky enough to see the painting up close when visiting the city’s Alte Meister (Old Masters) gallery.”

He concluded: “Without my German lessons at QE, I simply would not have been able to engage with another culture and build relationships in the way that I have. The lesson? Keep at it with the adjective endings!”

• To read Chanakya’s report in full, click here.

Two four-day trips to Provence and Rome respectively provided boys with the opportunity to see at first-hand many marvels of the ancient world, alongside stunning scenery and modern attractions.

Arranged with an emphasis on classical history and culture, the Latin trips organised by the Languages department provided a packed programme of activities.

Headmaster Neil Enright said: “We firmly believe that what pupils learn in the classroom can be greatly enriched by carefully curated trips and visits. That is certainly true of a subject such as Latin: there really is nothing like visiting the wonders of the ancient world for stimulating interest in ancient languages and in Classics more generally.”

Vivan Paul, of Year 10, was one of the pupils on the Rome trip: “I thoroughly enjoyed the sightseeing segment, and appreciated how we were able to visit numerous destinations in a relatively short time frame.”

After arriving for an early lunch on the first day, the boys had the chance to stretch their legs and explore Ostia Antica – the city’s Roman mini seaport. Day two included a guided tour of Vatican City and St Peter’s Basilica – one of the highlights for Vivan’s fellow Year 10 boy Tapash Gurung: “What I liked was the experience, going to the Vatican, and being able to explore Roman heritage and buildings. Overall, it was an amazing trip, filled with fond memories and amazing experiences: thank you to everyone who made this happen!” 

The trip also took in the Capitoline Museums (considered to be the first museums in the world) and the acclaimed ruins of the Baths of Caracalla. On the third day, after their guided tour of the Colosseum, Palatine Hill and Foro Romano, afternoon temperatures hit 40C, forcing the party to seek some shelter. On the final day, the boys enjoyed the Leonardo da Vinci experience and spending time at the Pantheon and the Trevi fountain, before heading home. 

The boys who made the trip to Provence in France also reported having had a memorable time. They likewise took in Roman ruins, but often in more rural settings. 

Siddarth Chidipudi, of Year 8, said: “We visited a variety of old Roman amphitheatres, ranging from one nearly as ‘colossal’ as the Colosseum itself to some that were more small and exclusive. We visited the idyllic mountaintop town of Arles, packed with local shops and homes and surrounded by breathtaking mountains. We also went to the magnificent Roman aqueduct of Pont Du Guard and saw the museum there.” 

The French experience started with a visit to Orange. The boys visited the Arc de Triomphe d’Orange Théâtre Antique and the municipal museum, before taking the opportunity to wander around the old town. The following day saw the boys with further free time in Arles, before a tour of the amphitheatre and Roman baths.  

After visiting Avignon in the morning of the third day, the boys took part in activities at the Parc Aventure Oxygène at Vaison La Romaine. The tree-top adventure park offers orienteering, slack-lining, climbing and zip wire runs. 

Year 8’s Galinghan Balamurugan particularly enjoyed this day: “It was very fun and extremely memorable, especially with the adventure park. A great way to finish the trip, feeling one with nature and being surrounded by greenery. In my opinion, the best part of the adventure park was the zip line at the end.” 

His contemporary, Kiaan Kariholu, summarised the whole experience: “I enjoyed visiting the different towns and exploring the markets by ourselves. My favourite part was trying some passion-fruit ice cream, which tasted really nice. There was nothing that I didn’t like: overall, it was a really a nice and fun trip, where we could experience traditional culture with our friends.” 

Arjun Darade, also of Year 8, similarly appreciated the “historical marvels” on his “fantastic” Provence trip: “There was nothing I didn’t like.”

• Click on the thumbnails below to view the images.

A Year 7 QE boy has won the Greater London prize for German for his age group in a prestigious translation competition.

Saran Anderson took the award for his translation of Grashüpfer (Grasshopper), a poem by the 19^th-century poet, writer and engineer, Heinrich Seidel.

Saran was among a group of QE linguists who entered the Anthea Bell Prize for Young Translators – a competition run from The Queen’s College, Oxford, which attracted 16,000 participants from 300 schools nationally.  It challenges children to translate a text with precision, creativity and cultural sensitivity.

Head of Languages Helen Shephard congratulated Saran: “He impressed the judges with his flawless rendition of a German poem into English.”

She added: “Our students embraced the challenge wholeheartedly, demonstrating their passion for languages and their commitment to excellence. Their success inspires us to continue to nurture language enthusiasts and celebrate the beauty of words across borders.”

The competition is organised by The Queen’s College Translation Exchange and named in honour of renowned translator Anthea Bell, who specialised in translating children’s literature and is perhaps best known for translating the Asterix comic books from French. She died in 2018, aged 82.

Saran said: “I think everyone should have entered; the benefit is learning the language in a different way – not just translating it. It gives you a little taste of ‘more than the basics’ and, most importantly, is super fun!”

Two other Year 7 entrants, Hardit Gulati and Rachit Banker, also reflected on their experience of taking part.

“It was an exciting competition,” said Hardit, “testing not only our language interpretation skills, but also our creativity and comprehension skills on how to keep the feel of the poem in a different language!”

Rachit added: “Participating in the competition was an absolute thrill; you get to enhance your translation skills, while it also assesses your imagination, creativity and vocabulary skills. It was really exciting to keep the essence and meaning of the poem when translating from one language to another!”

QE boys have enjoyed repeated success in the competition since it was first held in 2020: like Saran, last year, Jason Tao (then in Year 11) and Olly Salter (then in Year 13) were Greater London German winners for their age groups.

• Saran is pictured with other QE entrants in the 2024 competition.

Twenty-two Year 8 pupils spent a week soaking up modern French culture and improving their language skills on a trip to eastern France.

The group were kept busy with a host of activities during their stay with pupils from QE’s partner school, Collège St Pierre, from the town of Bourg en Bresse, between Lyon and Geneva.

The trip was the return leg of the exchange, following the visit in February of the French pupils.

Languages teacher Katrin Hood said that the exchange had definitely been a highlight of the year: “It was such a pleasure to see our students rise to the challenge of ‘living like locals’ for a week in another country.”

By spending evenings and the weekend of the trip with families, the QE boys were able to build their confidence in French, as well as experiencing a different way of life.

Pupil Aarav Agrawal, of Pearce House, said: “My partner was David and he was a really nice person and his family really treated me well; especially with snacks! My favourite part of the whole French exchange was probably our visit to the 1055 leisure park with our partners. It had laser tag, VR, bowling and a trampoline park.”

The official programme also included:

• A joint visit for both the QE boys and their partners to the Parc des Oiseaux (bird park)
• QE day trip to Lyon, one of France’s biggest cities with a beautiful old town
• A day at the Collège St Pierre to see lessons take place
• An interactive quiz about Bourg en Bresse, which lies at the foot of the Jura mountains and is the capital of the ancient province of Bresse
• An afternoon at Accrobranche (similar to Go Ape).

Several of the boys listed their own highlights. For Noah Green, it was the bird park visit, although he said the whole trip was “definitely the most fun thing” he had ever done as a QE pupil.

Noah’s fellow member of Underne form, Harsh Chavda, said: “I particularly enjoyed going to the market on the last day because it is rare to find such markets here in London. There were so many different shops – selling cheese, olives, bread, desserts, Chinese food, clothes and so much more! Some of us asked the owner of the cheese store to give us his strongest cheese, and we all tasted some. It was so strong and for me, disgusting!

“When we went to Lyon, we learned about the Basilica of Notre-Dame and how it’s dedicated to the Virgin Mary for saving Lyon from the plague.

“My highlight of the trip has to be the basketball match my exchange family took me to, because I have never been to one and the atmosphere in the stadium was so good. All in all, the French exchange trip created memories of a lifetime – such a special experience.”

Accompanying the boys were Ms Hood, Sciences teacher Bryn Evans and cover supervisor Joan Anderson. The exchange with Collège St Pierre has been running since 2010.

“We are very grateful to all of the families who took part for hosting our French guests so well, and to all of our colleagues who have played a part in the success of the trip,” said Ms Hood.

QE boys mixed pleasure with plenty of language-learning on the first German exchange since the pandemic.

The Year 9 trip to the north German city of Bielefeld saw the QE party enjoy the high life at one of the world’s tallest and fastest roller-coasters, at a tree-climbing adventure park and at the mediaeval Sparrenberg Castle (known locally as the Sparrenburg), which towers over the city centre.

They savoured more down-to-earth attractions, including a town trail and a football match between local teams in a city stadium, while sating their appetites at a food factory and at a barbecue organised in their honour.

And they worked hard during their week abroad, helping their exchange partners and their classmates by serving as language assistants in English lessons, while also participating in History, Music, Art and PE projects.

Burgunde Lukasser-Weitlaner, QE’s Assistant Head of Languages (Modern), said: “The first exchange after COVID turned out to be a great success: some boys asked why we did not go for two weeks! We were presented with a fantastic programme in Bielefeld, an excellent mix of fun and learning.”

The exchange, which began in 2005, is with a co-educational grammar school (or ‘Gymnasium’), Friedrich von Bodelschwingh Gymnasium in Bielefeld. The school is named after a German pastor, theologian and public health advocate, who ran large homes for people with learning difficulties and refused to comply with the Nazis’ euthanasia policies.

The boys spent a day at the Heide Park Resort in the town of Soltau and rode on the Colossos: Kampf der Giganten (Colossos: Battle of the Giants) roller coaster. “They enjoyed that tremendously,” said Miss Lukasser-Weitlaner.

The headquarters of the German multinational food company, Dr Oetker, is in Bielefeld. The boys relished both a guided tour of the factory, and the free treats they were served at the end. There was more food at a barbecue for the whole exchange group organised by the German parents.

The QE boys’ programme included these four projects, which gave them ample opportunity to practise their German:

• History: looking at the fall of the Berlin Wall and the peaceful demonstrations leading up to it. “I was impressed with the contributions some of our boys were able to make,” said Miss Lukasser-Weitlaner;
• Music: the boys created their own digital music using GarageBand software. One of the party, Peter Atanasov, said: “We made our own beats on iPads to accompany a melody and learnt about new music genres as well.”
• PE: the boys sampled a few different sports, Peter reports, such as “dodgeball with a German twist”. They also developed their teamwork abilities with a few memory-focused team games;
• Art: for a project based on a theme of ‘exploration’, the boys used ink to portray faces showing different emotions. The project included listening to music and then drawing faces to match the music, with, for example, slow music being represented by a sad facial expression.

As the School as a whole marks QE’s 450^th anniversary, the Languages department has its own landmark to celebrate – ten years of its French exchange.

Twenty-one boys headed to Bourg-en-Bresse this month, a town which lies northeast of Lyon at the foot of the Jura Mountains. Their exchange partners came to Barnet last term.

The QE boys enjoyed a week of activities that ranged from trips to local attractions to attending classes in the partner school, Collège St Pierre. This tenth exchange follows a three-year gap because of the pandemic.

Head of Languages Nora Schlatte said: “We were particularly excited for the 2023 French exchange, having not had an exchange run since 2019, and the trip was a great success.

“The QE boys and their French partners got on really well and it was great to see them sharing experiences and speaking more and more French as the week went on. Families on both sides said how happy they were to have been able to take part in this experience and we are thrilled to be maintaining our strong link with Collège St Pierre.”

The first exchange with Bourg-en-Bresse was in the 2010 Summer Term, when 13 pupils from Years 8 and 9 visited Collège St-Pierre, the alma mater of a QE French teacher of the time, Océane Jullien, who now teaches in Thailand.

On this year’s trip the QE boys flew in to Geneva and then took a coach over the border to Bourg-en-Bresse, where they were met by the host families. They were accompanied by Ms Schlatte, Languages teacher Katrin Hood (who is also Head of Year 8) and Cover Supervisor Joan Anderson.

Their busy week included a:

• Visit to the local ‘parc des oiseaux’ (bird park) with their partners
• Day trip to Lyon, taking in a museum visit (Musée du Cinéma et de la Miniature), picnic lunch, shopping and a funicular railway ride to the cathedral, where they could enjoy the views from the hill
• Weekend spent with the families – activities reported include bowling, trips to the cinema, cave visits, and visits to the Chamonix mountain region
• Scavenger hunt through the town and a woodland adventure activity
• Day in school, taking part in a quiz, and, with their exchange partners, in an Art lesson, Mathematics lesson, PE activity and going to a basketball match in the evening
• Trip to the market.

Among the QE party was Dhruva Arjun, who said: “My highlight was watching the basketball match on the last night. The atmosphere was really fun and it was great to be there with our exchange partners.”

Fellow member of Harrisons’ House, Aaryav Sharma, said some of his most memorable moments took place above ground level: “We had a great afternoon doing accrobranche, which is a treetop adventure activity,” adding that he and two friends all “managed the really difficult black run, which was great!”

Tanish Nori, a member of Underne House, relished spending time with his partner and the family. “At the weekend, they took me to the Alps and we went to the Aiguille du Midi, which was amazing.”

Last term, Headmaster Neil Enright joined key staff involved in the exchange in celebrating a decade of successful trips with a special afternoon tea.

Boys from across the School gave free rein to their creative side in the latest edition of the pupil-run magazine, The Arabella.

The 37-page colour publication features contributions from boys in every year group under the theme of ‘hidden beauty’.

The contents from the 26 contributors include poetry, art, creative prose writing in English, French & German, and essays on music.

Headmaster Neil Enright said: “I congratulate all those whose work has been featured: it is another high-quality edition of our creative magazine, with plenty of examples of the sort of free-thinking scholarship that we seek to cultivate at Queen Elizabeth’s School.”

The most entries were for the poetry section, where the ten contributors’ poems – with titles as diverse as The Passageway (Ishan Nakadi, of Year 9) and Introspect (Akheel Kale, of Year 11) were interspersed with examples of boys’ GCSE and A-level artwork.

The section featuring writing on modern languages is prefaced by the editor-in-chief, 2023 School Captain Darren Lee, of Year 12. Addressing the pupil readership, Darren writes: “Don’t feel restricted to only writing in French or German: we would love to see entries in languages spoken at home! In the next edition, we hope to extend the languages section and include Classics submissions…”

In the music section William Joanes, of Year 10, takes a highly technical look at Hidden Science in Music, illustrated with a picture of the inner ear, while Year 12’s Tharun Dhamodharan delivers a paeon to the human voice, The Hidden Instrument.

The creative writing section is similarly varied, from final-year student Antony Yassa’s science-based examination of The Microscopic World to Year 11 pupil Shreyas Mone’s musings on Beauty in destruction – “a different kind of beauty” – where he cites examples such as volcanoes, thunderstorms and even videos of building demolition.

Six artists’ work is featured, including the front-cover illustration by Year 13’s Dylan Domb, pictured top, and pieces by Gabriel Gulliford (also Year 13), above right, and Year 12’s Pratham Bhavsar, left.

As the foreword explains, the magazine is named after Arabella Stuart, a descendant of Henry VII and sixth in line to the crown, who fell foul of King James I when in 1610 she secretly married another potential heir to the throne, William Seymore. While her husband was sent to the Tower of London, Arabella was committed to the care of the Bishop of Durham, but fell ill in Barnet en route. She stayed for some months at the home of a Governor of the School, Thomas Conyers, while her spiritual needs were attended to by another Governor, Rev Matthias Milward, who was also subsequently appointed Master (Headmaster) of the School.

Darren led an editorial team of 21 boys. Staff assistance and support came from: Assistant Head (Pupil Destinations) James Kane; Head of English Robert Hyland; Curator of QE Collections and Head of Library Services Jenni Blackford; Library Services Assistant Corinna Illingworth, and from teachers in the Languages department.

Submissions are now being invited for the next issue, which will be issue 8 and is on the theme of ‘The Lure of Power’.

• Anyone with access to the School’s eQE portal may read The Arabella here.

The 2023 School Captain, Darren Lee, has taken a prize as one of the runners-up in a prestigious national German essay-writing competition.

Following an adjudication process that looked both at content and language, Darren was named among the prize-winners by King’s College London.

The A-level German writing competition run by King’s Department of Languages, Literatures and Cultures was on the theme of how to tackle and overcome the climate crisis (Wie bewältigen wir die Klimakrise?).

Congratulating him, Assistant Head of Languages Burgunde Lukasser-Weitlaner said: “Darren’s prize is richly deserved. His competition entry was creative; it displayed his impressive language skills to good effect, and it also made a convincing argument.”

Darren opened this 443-word piece with an original poem, before then setting out to break down the issue into the ‘macro’ and the ‘micro’, considering how both large corporations and individuals could tackle the climate crisis.

The poem takes an apocalyptic view, ending with the words “…unsere Masken können nicht den Gestank eines sterbenden Planets reinigen”. (“Our masks cannot clean the stench of a dying planet.”)

But thereafter, while not flinching from the difficulties, Darren, who is in Year 12, strikes a cautiously optimistic note, stating that although it might appear that humanity is already doomed, there is in fact some progress.

He concludes his essay by urging people to eschew the temptation to blame others (“Es ist zu einfach, die Schuld auf anderen zu geben”), whether it be the rich, previous generations or huge, faceless corporations.

Instead, businesses can work together at the micro level, he urges, and thereby collectively reach the macro targets needed to provide a healthy environment for future generations.

He thanked both Frau Lukasser-Weitlaner for providing him with the opportunity to submit his essay in the competition and his German teacher, Rebecca Grundy, “for equipping me with the skills to write it!” Darren attended an online prize-giving organised by King’s.

The runner-up prize is only the latest success for Darren, who officially took over as School Captain on New Year’s Day and recently won a prestigious Arkwright Scholarship for engineering.

Queen Elizabeth’s School is to work with the charity, Classics for All, as a ‘Hub’ for developing the study of classics across schools in North London.

Based at King’s College London, Classics for All was established to halt the decline of classics in state schools nationwide. As a Hub School, QE will host events such as  debates, symposia and lectures for other local schools on topics related to classics.

The School re-introduced Latin as a full curriculum subject in 2012, and all boys opting to study more than one language at GCSE are invited to take classes in Ancient Greek. The announcement follows QE’s inaugural Shakespeare and Latin Festival, which got under way towards the end of the Autumn Term.

Headmaster Neil Enright said: “I welcome this announcement and congratulate our teachers on all the creative work they are doing to enrich our pupils’ appreciation of classics. Learning Latin and Greek not only gives the boys insights into the rich cultures of Ancient Greece and Rome, but also instils academic rigour generally and is of particular help in the learning of modern languages.”

The announcement of QE’s new role is one of a series of recent announcements from external organisations which have further underlined QE’s academic credentials. Earlier this month, the influential Sunday Times Parent Power survey confirmed that this year’s QE A-level results were the best of any state school in the country. Before that, Schools Minister Nick Gibb wrote to Mr Enright to congratulate the School on its “leadership in continuing to promote the teaching of languages”. All 191 boys in last year’s Year 11 were entered for at least one modern foreign language GCSE – a 100% rate which puts QE “amongst the top schools in England for the proportion of pupils studying a language at GCSE”, Mr Gibb wrote.

In addition to a School production of Julius Caesar (staged in School and at Finchley’s artsdepot as part of this year’s Shakespeare Schools Festival), the QE Shakespeare and Latin Festival has featured lectures by academics from UCL and King’s College London. Boys across the School have also been getting involved in mythology quizzes and recital competitions.

Crispin Bonham-Carter, Assistant Head (Pupil Involvement), said: “Since we are one of the few state schools to teach Latin to all, it’s not surprising that universities are keen to forge closer links.”

In her lecture delivered at the School, Dr Emily Pillinger, Senior Lecturer in Latin Language and Literature at King’s, looked at Decadence in New York and Ancient Rome. Her well-attended talk was open to senior Latinists and English Literature GCSE and A-level students. “Dr Pillinger drew out the links between Baz Luhrmann’s film of The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald’s novel and the ancient Latin text, The Feast of Trimalchio,” said Mr Bonham-Carter.

For her part, UCL Professor of Latin Gesine Manuwald lectured on the real-life characters of Julius Caesar, Mark Anthony and Cicero.

“Both academics were hugely impressed by how engaged and knowledgeable our young classicists are,” Mr Bonham-Carter added.