Wonderful atmosphere and heart-warming stories at the Junior Language Challenge final 2017
A total of 32 children battled it out at Junior Language Challenge 2017 Final on Friday Oct 13, each with their own motivations and stories.
The winner, Jeevan Macro, from Salisbury, wants his success to send a message back to the children’s home in Nepal from where he was adopted.
Jeevan, from Sandroyd School in Tollard Royal, says “We still keep in touch with the children’s home in Nepal and I’d like them to know what you can achieve if you work hard.”
Runner-up William Harwood from Mansfield, Nottingham had concerns closer to home after his mum, Claire, had a surprise triumph in the parent/teacher round.
William, who goes to Nottingham High School, says: “I didn’t expect her to win as well – it was a very big surprise and my favourite part of the competition!”.
While teacher Laetitia Le Moal received a special award for entering dozens of children from Monmouth Boy’s Prep School into the competition. A total of 86 pupils entered from The Grange and one of them, Ojas Shanbhag, was among the 32 finalists.
All the finalists at the event, which was held at the Language Show Live in Islington, London, were given a medal in recognition of their achievement.
Founder and uTalk Chairman Dick Howeson says: “All the children really impressed me with their language skills, they had clearly put the hours in!
“But what was truly remarkable was what a wonderful atmosphere the final had. If, as we believe, language learning is about making friends wherever you go, then that was particularly true of this year’s JLC.”
Money raised from the competition goes to uTalk’s sister charity onebillion, which works to educate children in developing countries. This year the JLC, which attracted over 2,000 entrants, raised a whopping £11,000 for onebillion.
Finally, this year’s Junior Language Challenge was supported by The Laetitia Collender Memorial Fund. Find out more here.