Lambeth Academy students compete in HSBC/British Council Chinese Speaking Competition

1 March 2010

Students from ULT’s Lambeth Academy will showcase their linguistics skills this week at the final of this year's HSBC/British Council Chinese Speaking Competition. They will compete on 4 March at the British Museum against more than 90 students from schools across the UK to win a place on a cultural trip to Beijing this Easter.

The competition is organised by the British Council and funded by the HSBC Global Education Programme to support and promote the teaching of Chinese as a modern foreign language in UK schools. Now in its seventh year, the competition has attracted a record number of participants. The finalists have already taken part in X-Factor style regional heats in London and Newcastle. Of 300 students who applied, 95 have made it through to the final, and only ten will be going to China in April.

Neha, one of four Lambeth Academy students who will compete in the final, said: “I am so excited about this competition because it gives me a chance to explore the Chinese language much deeper than before. I would love to be able to go to China and converse with native Chinese speakers.”

The students will compete in either the language ability or performance category. In the language category contestants give a prepared short speech in Chinese, translate sentences and phrases from English to Chinese and demonstrate their knowledge of China in a Q&A round. In the second category, groups of six students perform a piece of drama, dance or poetry in Chinese. The judging panel will include the Chair of the Edexcel Board of Examiners for the Chinese GCSE, Chinese academics and representatives of HSBC and the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China.

At the event, contestants will have a chance to explore the British Museum’s China galleries and study Chinese artefacts. The ten winners will see China’s most famous artefact when they visit the Great Wall as part of their prize at Easter. They will also spend a day with Chinese students at a high school in Beijing and experience contemporary Chinese culture.

E. Schmidt-Roberts, Assistant Principal of Lambeth Academy, said: “This is an outstanding chance for our students to show their talent in this language, their dedication to learning it and their interest in Chinese culture. At the same time, these students, like other learners in our academy, have also made a subject choice which will positively change their future studies and employability, which is a very important factor in the global job market.”