Challenges & Competitions

A number of ALL's member-led local groups (Branches, Networks and Primary Hubs), Language Networks and partners run challenges and competitions for language learners in their local area, or at a regional or national level. Information about competitions which are currently open for entry can be found below. Competition results and success stories can be found under the News tab.

Latest Competitions

“HAVE YOUR SAY” 2024

ALL Essex & East Anglia - Have Your Say competition. We're back! The Have Your Say competition (HYS) is relaunching for 2024. Schools in Essex & Suffolk who have previously participated in this event (prior to 2020) should have received an entry form from our...

Operation Language – Thursday 14th March 2024

Operation LanguageThursday 14th March 202409:00am - 12:00pmVirtual Event presented via Zoom Year 12 and 13 Operation Language is aimed at Year 12 and 13 students studying French, German or Spanish and is one of events based on the work of the World Health...

SCOOP! – Friday 1st March 2024

SCOOP!Friday 1st March 2024St. Paul’s School for Girls, Birmingham Year 12 and 13 SCOOP! is a fast-paced language and journalism event for students studying French, German or Spanish in Years 12 or 13. It will challenge their skills in reading, writing, listening and...

SCOOP! – Monday 26th February 2024

SCOOP!Monday 26th February 2024Reading School Year 12 and 13 SCOOP! is a fast-paced language and journalism event for students studying French, German or Spanish in Years 12 or 13. It will challenge their skills in reading, writing, listening and speaking. We are...

The Word is Not Enough – Monday 18th OR Tuesday 19th March 2024

The Word is Not EnoughMonday 18th OR Tuesday 19th March 2024Shhhhh…it’s in a secret location in Bath… Year 10 One of our most popular challenges, the Year 10 students will be working on tasks based on GCHQ scenarios in French, German or Spanish at a secret location in...

Flair for International Fashion – Wednesday 13th March 2024

Flair for International FashionWednesday 13th March 2024Virtual Events presented via Zoom Year 10 and 11 This event highlights the exciting international fashion industry and is equally aimed at boys and girls from Years 10 and 11 studying French, German or Spanish....

International Space Challenge – Tuesday 5th March 2024

International Space ChallengeTuesday 5th March 202409:00am - 12:00pmVirtual Event presented via Zoom Year 10 and 11 A virtual version of our very popular event showing how languages can open opportunities in science careers. The virtual version concentrates on the...

On Doctor’s Orders – Friday 23rd February 2024

On Doctor's OrdersFriday 23rd February 202409:00am - 12:00pmVirtual Event presented via Zoom Year 10 and 11 This event is one of our set of events based on the work of the multilingual World Health Organisation and this one is aimed at Years 10 and 11 studying French,...

Gold Medal Languages – Thursday 22nd February 2024

Gold Medal LanguagesThursday 22nd February 2024Solihull School Year 10 and 11 The Olympics are coming! This is our special event for this year in celebration of the Olympics in Paris in 2024. For students in Years 10 and 11 studying French, German or Spanish, who will...

European Challenge – Friday 9th February 2024

European ChallengeFriday 9th February 20249:00am to 12:00pmVirtual Event presented via Zoom Year 10 and 11 Languages together with Marketing aimed at Years 10 and 11. Students learning French, German or Spanish will be planning to take a typically British product to a...

The Challenge of China – Wednesday 6th March 2024

The Challenge of ChinaWednesday 6th March 202409:00amn - 12:00pmVirtual Event presented via Zoom This event is aimed at those many students who are now learning Mandarin Chinese at school to help them consolidate and practise their language knowledge and think more...

Careers with Languages Webinar – Friday 2nd February 2024

Careers with Languages WebinarFriday 2nd February 2024This webinar will be presented via Zoom2:00pm - 3:00pm Year 9 - 11 This is a short one-hour event at 2.00pm to encourage further take up of languages at GCSE, A Level and beyond. We will have 4 different speakers...

Sweet Marketing – Tuesday 26th March 2024

Sweet MarketingTuesday 26th March 2024Virtual Event presented via Zoom Year 9 - 10 We are inviting you to book a one hour slot for a fun end-of-term activity for your students of French, German or Spanish called SWEET MARKETING aimed at Years 9 - 10. Each slot will be...

Gold Medal Languages – Tuesday 2nd July 2024

Gold Medal LanguagesTuesday 2nd July 2024Full day eventStafford Grammar School Year 9 and 10 The Olympics are coming! This is our special event for this year in celebration of the Olympics in Paris in 2024. For students in Years 9 and 10 studying French, German or...

Gold Medal Languages – Friday 21st June 2024

Gold Medal LanguagesFriday 21st June 2024King Edward’s School Witley, nr. Godalming, Surrey Year 9 - 10 The Olympics are coming! This is our special event for this year in celebration of the Olympics in Paris in 2024. For students in Years 9 and 10 studying French,...

Flair for International Fashion – Tuesday 25th June 2024

Flair for International FashionTuesday 25th June 2024Full day eventHall Green School, Birmingham Year 9 and 10 The fashion world is coming to Birmingham! This is an opportunity for your Year 9 and 10 students of French, German or Spanish to learn about the...

Celebrate Speaking!

Celebrate Speaking (1 – 29 February 2024)   The British Council in collaboration with the Association for Language Learning is again running its popular Celebrate Speaking! Festival to celebrate languages in education and community. This year, we are working...

Primary Bee – For Year 5 & 6 – French, German and Spanish

Routes into Languages Competitions
Date: Tuesday 26 September 2023 – 08:00 to Friday 26 July 2024 – 17:00
Event Type: Competition
Region: East of England
Location: National
THE FOREIGN LANGUAGE PRIMARY BEE

The aim of the Primary Bee is for students in who have started learning a foreign language ab initio in KS2 to practise and improve their vocabulary, pronunciation and memory skills in the target language (French, Spanish and German).

Spelling Bee – For Year 7s – French, German and Spanish

Routes into Languages Competitions
Date: Tuesday 26 September 2023 – 09:30 to Sunday 21 July 2024 – 16:00
Event Type: Competition
Region: East of England
Location: Regional with the National Final at Cambridge University
The National Spelling Bee continues for Year 7s (French, German and Spanish)!

With word lists informed by the latest research, the aim of the Spelling Bee is for students in Year 7 who are learning a foreign language to practise and improve their vocabulary, spelling, pronunciation and memory skills in the target language.

                                       Annual Competitions

French Pop Video

Organised by the Institut français du Royaume-Uni, students compete in age-group categories across primary and secondary

Have Your Say

Have Your Say is a speaking competition for pupils in Years 7, 8, 9 and 10

German Debating

Debating competition for Year 11 and 12 organised by the Goethe-Institut, London

UK Linguistics Olympiad

Competition for any age, any ability level where competitors have to solve linguistic data problems

Strictly Speaking

An outline of how to run a Strictly Speaking Poetry Recitation  competition within a class, your school or between a group of schools, complete with sample anthologies in three languages.

Strictly in Isolation

The Strictly Speaking competition as modified for use remotely.

Poetry Live

'Poetry Live' is a recitation competition run for local schools at St Mary's University, Strawberry Hill. Here you will find documentation to help you run your own version according to your context.

Foreign Language Spelling Bee

Competition for Year 7 to practise and improve vocabulary, spelling and memory skills in French, German or Spanish

Foreign Language Translation Bee

Competition for Years 8 & 9 to practice and improve vocabulary, spelling and memory skills in French, German or Spanish

Annual EDoL Writing Competition from ALLNE

ALLNE, NfLNE and partners are once again organising the annual European Day of Languages Competition for Schools and in 2022 it is again open to anyone!

German Language Competitions

The 2022 DAAD/IMLR German Language Competition focussed on coming together, celebrating friendship and collaboration between people, countries and institutions beyond borders and across cultures.

Please click here for full details.

European Day of Languages

ALLNE, NfLNE and partners are once again organising an annual European Day of Languages writing competition for Schools, and in 2023 it is once more open to the whole country!

The organising committee invites language learners in any key stage to create a piece of text in a language they are learning on the theme: Treasure.

Please click here for full details.

Strictly Speaking 2022 - a school / student review

Review of a Strictly Speaking celebration in German 2022

Strictly Speaking is a poetry recitation event, with a class round of a rehearsed poem, and, for those who proceed to a second round, an unseen poem. An outline of how to run your own event is available to download here.

As teachers, we were really delighted to see how positively and enthusiastically the students participated in the event. All 120 of our Year 8s joined in, and in the class rounds they all had a chance to perform their poem and listen to each other. The students demonstrated great creativity in performing the poems. Some participants sang or rapped their poem to great effect, and all of them enjoyed the Year group final. It was a really fun celebration of German poetry.

Oscar Year 8 (winner)

When I first stepped on stage I felt overwhelmed and extremely nervous. After I performed my first poem though, the crowd went wild, and this gave me the confidence to then perform my mystery poem. Thinking of a musical rhythm was a great way to pronounce and deliver the words in an easier but sophisticated way.

When my name was called out as the winner I was astonished and extremely happy, I was very grateful, and loved performing.

It was a great achievement and am really hoping to continue my German into the future.

Alfie Year 8

I found the German speaking competition something that really brought everyone taking German together, I can remember after I finished that all of the other contestants congratulated me on my performance. I think this is this sort of environment that makes me enjoy speaking German so much.

Anthea Bell Prize for Young Translators 2023 - a school and student view from N Ireland

You can take the skills you learn in class a little bit further. We both really enjoyed seeing texts, poems and stories in different languages. We see lots of books in English, but it was fun to see real texts in French and Spanish.

Please click here for more information.

Languages East Competition Winners 2023

Congratulations to all who participated in 2023 in any of the RiL Bees or other activities. Details of the winners are here, along with a description of the activities and how schools can access them.