​Talented RGS linguists earn national honours

​Talented RGS linguists earn national honours

TWO RGS students are celebrating success in in one of the UK’s most prestigious language competitions after impressing judges with their literary translation skills.

Callum Priest, 11, received a commendation for his French-to-English translation, while Daria Kondek, 17, was named an area winner for her German-to-English translation in the 2026 Anthea Bell Prize for Young Translators.

Run by the Translation Exchange at The Queen’s College, University of Oxford, the Anthea Bell Prize competition attracted more than 25,000 students from schools across the UK.

The competition, which encourages students aged 11–18 to engage creatively with authentic literary texts, was established in 2020 in memory of celebrated literary translator Anthea Bell OBE and aims to inspire the next generation of linguists and translators.

Rather than simply translating words, entrants are challenged to capture the style, tone and meaning of an original poem or book extract in natural, engaging English.

Organisers praised the exceptionally high standard of work submitted, describing the judging process as ‘extremely hard’ because of the high standard of entries this year.

Congratulations to both students on their fantastic achievements, which reflect not only their linguistic ability but also their creativity, attention to detail and appreciation of literature in other languages.