News, Events & Activities from the Spanish Department...

European Day of Languages – Friday, 26th September 2025

To celebrate the European Day of Languages on Friday 26th September, Hazelwick School proudly showcased the rich linguistic and cultural diversity within our community through a special video project. The video featured both current and former Hazelwick students, alongside members of staff, who speak languages other than English. Its aim was to promote the importance of language learning, celebrate multiculturalism, and highlight the truly global community we are fortunate to be part of at Hazelwick.

The final compilation was a real gem. Students from different year groups, as well as alumni now working in a wide range of professional fields—such as law, finance, and education—shared their passion for the languages they speak at home and those they studied during their time at Hazelwick. Several members of staff also took part, proudly demonstrating their language skills and emphasising the powerful role languages play in connecting people, cultures and opportunities across the world.

The event was run as an exciting tutor group competition, with students challenged to identify all 15 languages featured in the video (not all of which were European!). The winner(s) in each tutor group were the students who successfully listed every language.

A month later, our Year 12 students had the privilege of meeting one of the former students featured in the video, Lewis Clark. Lewis generously gave his time to return to Hazelwick to deliver an inspiring assembly, outlining his journey from being a Hazelwick student to now working in Belgium for an international pharmaceutical company. During his visit to the Spanish Department, he also spoke passionately to several Spanish classes about the vital role Spanish continues to play in his professional life on a daily basis. His message was both motivating and empowering, offering students a powerful real-life example of how language learning can open doors to international careers.

European Day of Languages was a wonderful opportunity to come together as a school community to celebrate diversity, ambition and global citizenship. It was a proud moment for the Languages Department and a powerful reminder that learning a language truly opens doors to the world.

Year 7 Spanish Spelling Bee Competition

For the second year running, our Year 7 students have taken part in the Spanish Spelling Bee Competition, a prestigious national initiative led by Routes into Languages. The competition promotes a love of languages while developing students’ confidence, accuracy and resilience as they translate, spell and pronounce Spanish vocabulary against the clock.

We are extremely proud of the commitment and enthusiasm shown by all participants, who practised and prepared through our weekly lunchtime Spelling Bee club. Stage 1 has now officially concluded, and the standard throughout was exceptionally high, with students demonstrating impressive perseverance across every round.

Stage 1 Qualifiers for Stage 2:

1. Subi Baskar

2. Robin Fecko

3. Darshana Rajashekar

4. Shanmukh Dhulipala

5. Ayan Billah

6. Rhea Dsouza

7. Pratham Singh & Nehel Zahra

8. Nidhi Vaidya

Following Stage Two, the top three students will qualify for the South East Regional Final, which will take place at the University of Southampton (date to be announced). There, they will compete against winners from other schools across the region — a fantastic opportunity to represent Hazelwick on a prestigious academic stage.

Year 8 Spanish Translation Bee Competition

Building on the success of the Year 7 Spelling Bee, our Year 8 students have taken the next step in their language-learning journey by participating in the Spanish Translation Bee, also organised by Routes into Languages. This competition challenges students to translate increasingly complex Spanish sentences under time pressure, developing essential grammatical and linguistic skills for GCSE and beyond.

Stage 1 was delivered through our weekly Spanish Lunch Club, where students prepared with great dedication outside of normal lesson time. Their enthusiasm and commitment were a real credit to them.

Following the completion of Stage 1, the six highest-scoring students qualified for Stage 2. From these, two students will be selected to represent Hazelwick at the South East Regional Final at the University of Southampton (date to be announced).

Stage 1 Qualifiers for Stage 2:

1st – Nayonika Sujitkumar
2nd – Melissa Tattolo

3rd – Mikail Khan

4th – Heshretaa Gopavaram

5th – Amelie Johnson

6th – Iaroslav Sinkevich

A special mention goes to Leo Fulbrook and Varshika Dodda, who finished in 7^th and 8^th place, for their excellent effort and commitment throughout the competition.

We are incredibly proud of all students who took part in both competitions. Their ambition, resilience and passion for languages truly reflect the outstanding linguistic culture at Hazelwick. We now look forward with great anticipation to the next rounds and to seeing our students represent the school at regional level.

¡Muchísima suerte a todos!

Ms Garcia