4 minute read
Spanish
The Spanish Department enjoyed a bright start to the academic year with plenty of enthusiasm and with lots in the pipeline; a highflying A Level year with Annie Chamberlain, Lucy Thompson, Becky Cole, Sophie Zoltowski, Rose Giffin and Eleanor Joliffe enthused and confident after completing work placements in Valencia, a trip to Cuba in the making and our over-subscribed trip to Barcelona.
In October half term, with a healthy number of keen linguists from the Second and Third Years we had an incredible four days whizzing round Barcelona on metro, bus and foot avoiding the Catalonian Independence Protests which were in full swing. The students made the most of the cultural and historical sights, with photo competitions, tapas tasting and a day at the ever popular Port Aventura theme park.
Theatre trips to see ‘La Casa de los Espíritus’ and ‘La Casa de Bernarda Alba’ were in the diary again this year and the Sixth Formers were captivated with both texts brought to life through powerful and thought-provoking performances by the Cervantes Theatre Company in London. Sincere congratulations go to Zoe Blackburn whose entry to the European translating competition was deemed outstanding and she was awarded a Juvenes Translatores special mention diploma, one of only 271 students out of 3,116 students acknowledged for the quality of their translation. So impressed were they with Zoe’s translation that they commented specifically on how well she understood the source text. Well done Zoe! Mrs A-M Giffin Goodbye to Elena Hall This summer, we said a very fond farewell to Elena, who after 22 years working in the Spanish Department is bidding us “adiós” to enjoy her well-deserved years of retirement. During her time at Churcher’s, Elena has not only been our charismatic and energetic Spanish assistant with unparalleled knowledge of Spanish culture and current affairs, but has also come to the rescue of many teaching classes. We are all indebted to her for bringing such energy and sense of fun to the Department, she has been untiring in her efforts to prepare students for their oral exams at AS and A Level. The depth and interest she has in so many different topics related to Spain and South America illustrate her wealth of knowledge that she was always so generous to share. She has helped numerous students beyond the classroom, proving instrumental in organising au pair placements in Valencia for our Sixth Formers. This has been a huge bonus to all our students who took part and many have very fond memories of these experiences.
Sadly, it was an abrupt ending not only to the school year, but also to Elena’s 22 years of service and many students did not get the chance to say thank you and goodbye, so here are just a few comments from present and past students to show just how much Elena was appreciated and will be missed. “When I was appointed Head of Spanish at Churcher’s College in 1997, I was in fact the only teacher of Spanish and we had no Spanish assistant. Then I met a very chatty little Spanish lady waiting for her daughter who was in the same ballet class as mine and ... the rest is history. Elena soon proved super dynamic and very popular with the students with whom she worked miracles in their spoken language.” Janet Harvey Tsakiropoulou (Head of Spanish 19972007) “Elena is the definition of Spanish; colourful, vibrant and chatty. Plus, she is better than an encyclopaedia. A classic who could never be replaced!” Emily Giffin 2018
“Puedes estar segura de que hemos aprendido un montón de ti. ¡vamos todos a echarte de menos!” Zoe Blackburn 2021
“Gracias por todos los años que me has ayudado.” Miquel Bover-Sinclair 2021
“Gracias por todos los años hablando español juntos, me han ayudado mucho.” Anqi Stenning 2021
“‘Mrs Hall has a brilliant mind and every single time I saw her she had a new story or interesting piece of knowledge to share. She is so kind-hearted and always willing to help.” Becky Cole 2020
“my speaking and general understanding of the language has been immensely improved thanks to you.” Erin Lewis 2020 “I am so grateful for all your hard work (and tea) that got me to where I am now, as well as the fab memories from Valencia.” Sophie Zoltowski 2020
“Gracias por todo tu ayuda y paciencia.” Rose Giffin 2020
“really helped build our confidence in conversational Spanish as well as broaden our vocabulary and given us an authentic glimpse in Hispanic culture.” Ellie Joliffe 2020
“Thank you for giving me so much help and confidence, as well as the amazing au pairing opportunity in Valencia which I will never forget.” Lucy Thompson 2020 “our 1-to-1 lessons were one of the highlights of my week.” Ben Fleck 2020
“Thank you for all your support over the years!” Alysia Hoe 2019
“I hope your outfits are still just as bright and colourful as your outlook on life” Evie Fleck 2018
