Pennthorpe Pupil Earns National Recognition for Creative Translation

Published by Pennthorpe School on Tuesday 2nd of December 2025

Pennthorpe is thrilled to announce that Freya, a Year 6 pupil at the time of entry, has been awarded a special commendation in the Stephen Spender Schools Laureate Prize, a prestigious competition that celebrates linguistic creativity among young people across the UK, Ireland, and British Schools Overseas.

The competition challenges pupils to select a poem in any language, translate it into English, and provide a commentary explaining their choices, a task that demands linguistic skill, cultural sensitivity, and creative thinking.

Freya chose the French poem “Le Voyage” (The Journey), inspired by her own experiences:

“I chose this poem because I grew up overseas and I often travel with my family, and this poem reminded me about all my travels.”

Determined to preserve the poem’s rhythm and rhyme, Freya made imaginative adjustments:

“I added ‘with my didgeridoo’ so it would rhyme with Timbuktu… I used the word didgeridoo because it relates back to the trip to Australia.”

She also tackled idiomatic challenges with insight:

“I struggled translating the phrase ‘je prends mes jambes à mon cou’ because word by word it meant ‘I take my legs to my neck,’ which didn’t make sense. I realised it meant ‘I am running away.’”

Competitions like the Stephen Spender Prize are more than literary exercises, they nurture empathy, cultural awareness, and cognitive flexibility. They encourage pupils to think deeply, adapt creatively, and appreciate global perspectives, skills that will serve them for life.

Pennthorpe is immensely proud of Freya’s achievement, which reflects her talent and determination, and the school’s commitment to fostering a love of languages and literature.