On Wednesday afternoon two Fourth Form pupils, Ella Aisher (W) and Rohan Scott (Sc), Head of English, Richard Smith, and Head of Languages, Sara Davidson, attended the prestigious Chartered Institute of Linguists Award Ceremony held at The Law Society in London.
The evening was held to celebrate excellence in languages and prizes were awarded to the top scorers in the CIOL’s translation and interpreting exams. As the top scorers at Oundle in German and Spanish respectively in the new CIOL “Real Lives” examination held in June, Ella and Rohan were invited to the event.
The ‘Real Lives’ examination is a multiple choice listening examination for Fourth Form pupils in which candidates have to understand real life emergency scenarios where accurate communication is critical. It tests their language skills in adventure and leadership situations, linked to the services and the sorts of situations CCF cadets might find themselves in.
In the June exam, Ella and Rohan had to understand a conversation between a ship’s commander and the coastguard following a Mayday Call, as well as a conversation between an officer and someone who had witnessed a lorry being hijacked during a protest.
Ella and Rohan were applauded for being the School’s top scorers. The evening ended with a short, but inspirational speech by BBC Security Correspondent and Arabist Frank Gardner OBE, who was awarded the David Crystal Trophy for his work using languages.
“Languages are an incredible passage to another world. They are the doors that take you to a new world, very much like Narnia. Learn a little bit in many languages and you won’t believe how far it will take you. They’re the best thing ever for me,” he said.
