From their arrival in Paris to their departure three days later, QE A-level French students enjoyed their authentic taste of Parisian life and the opportunity for some language learning.
Moving around on public transport, the boys took in the sights and used local specialist guides who spoke to them in French.
Head of Languages Nora Schlatte said: “The trip was an ideal opportunity for students to practise their language skills in an authentic environment, while experiencing the culture of France’s capital at first hand.”
The group visited the Latin Quarter, the Ile de la Cité, including a walk around the outside of Notre Dame; the catacombs, the Pompidou Centre, the Stade de France; Montmartre, the Sacré Cœur, the Musée d’Orsay and the Arc de Triomphe.
Ms Schlatte, who accompanied the 14 boys on the trip, along with Enrichment tutor and History teacher John Haswell, added that the boys had benefitted from the guided tours being delivered in French and had enjoyed the opportunity to explore the catacombs themselves.
“An understanding of Paris’s history and modern cultural life is an integral part of the A-level course, and this trip had direct relevance to the boys’ course of study,” she said.
Amongst the highlights for the boys were the evening boat trip and the tour of the Stade de France. Shuaib Adam, of Year 12, said: “Seeing the Eiffel Tower in person on the first night had me in awe, let alone a cruise along the River Seine watching the Eiffel Tower light show.”
“We travelled around Paris via the Métro, which was much better as we really got to experience that Parisian lifestyle,” he added.
“We were also given lots of free time to explore the city ourselves and try out the great French cuisine, including the renowned ‘galettes and crepes’, which couldn’t have been any better and which rounded off the trip.”
The group of Year 12 and Year 13 German students took the train to Kingston to watch The Caucasian Chalk Circle (Der kaukasische Kreidekreis) in the town’s Rose Theatre.
The visit reinforced the boys’ Sixth Form German studies. The Sixth Form course covers Berlin and its cultural scene. Brecht lived and worked in East Berlin for a large part of his career, although The Caucasian Chalk Circle was written in the United States, where Brecht was living in exile during the war.
Year 7 pupil Jonas Dawit took second prize nationally for French in his age group, while Year 11’s Arjun Patel was the winner for Greater London for German. Olly Salter, of Year 12, also won a regional commendation, again for German.
It was the second consecutive year that QE has entered the competition, which is named after an acclaimed English literary translator who died in 2018.
After learning of his commendation, Olly reflected on the experience: “’Entering the Anthea Bell translation competition was immensely rewarding. The need to think outside of the box – to ensure not only the meaning, but also the tone, of the text was preserved – was exciting and something I will carry with me into my future study of languages and translation. I am so glad that I took part.”
The four-strong team from QE impressed in three earlier rounds, before eventually taking the title in the final, overcoming a team drawn from the near-4,000 students at The Sixth Form College, Farnborough.
Round 1: School canteens should only be allowed to sell vegetarian/vegan food. QE, in favour of the motion, beat Coloma Convent Girls’ School in south London.
Still basking in their success, current School Captain Theo and classmate Olly were then joined by fellow Year 12 pupils Alan Yee Kin Kan and Antony Yassa for the French debating competition, which was held at St Paul’s Girls’ School.
Each Year 7 form put forward a team made up of three or four boys. First place went to Pearce, with team members Ameen Elamin, Kyle Goldband, Tuhin Mitra and Nittant Moudgil scoring an emphatic victory.
“They were allowed to use their text books to help, as the ‘vocab’ we used was taken from the Year 7 course, but the sentences were pitched to be extra-challenging, particularly in terms of grammatical structures.”
The collective – a collaborative blog written and produced by Cambridge University linguists – awarded Vineeth joint first prize in the senior individual category for his closely argued seven-minute 
Vineeth explored the various academic theories about the origins of these sounds and how they developed. He looked at why retroflexes are common across hundreds of different languages throughout the Indian sub-continent, yet are relatively rare in other parts of the world.
Vineesh concluded: “This is what is amazing about retroflexes: the profound impact that they have on the complex sociology of south Asia, spreading across the tongues of people from a diversity of cultures, religions and backgrounds in a way that nothing else possibly could….Retroflexes seem to bind all of south Asia together. Despite making us seem homogenous and often risible to the western world, [their] history can give us a glimpse into the complex interactions between diverse cultures thousands of years ago.”
QE’s Head of Languages, Nora Schlatte, was a member of the jury, and saw Vineeth and Awad in action. “Their research, poise and accuracy of language were amazing,” she said “Vineeth’s opening speech was described as ‘un modèle du genre’ [a model of its kind] and both boys responded very well to some challenging questions. Participating in something like this, especially remotely, is really daunting and they did brilliantly.”
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