GREENDOWN PUPILS RUNNERS UP IN NATIONAL COMPETITIONS FOR SONG, POETRY AND POP VIDEO!

Y8 pupils Hannah Mitchell and Jodie Tielemans secured a double whammy recently for themselves and the school with a song they wrote in Spanish about what they were going to do in their spare time. Hannah also composed the music and together they choreographed their performance of it. They were asked to compose something following a unit of work on future plans with their Spanish teacher Señora Mochan back in the Spring Term. She was so impressed she showed it to the whole class who agreed it should be forwarded as an entry to two different competitions.
Free Spirit organised by University of West of England is a National Song and Poetry competition run annually and Pop Video was run by Routes into Languages.
The girls were delighted to receive the news that they had come runners up in the Spanish section for Song for the Free Spirit competition and winners in the Pop Video competition.
On 22 June they went with Señora Mochan up to the Goethe Institut in London where they were first to perform their entry to an audience of judges from a variety of embassies and other competition entries. Alison Taylor from UWE commented that 87 schools had taken part and that some of those had multiple entries and reiterated how well those present had done in the face of fierce competition.
It was a wonderful celebration of pupil creativity in a variety of languages and spanning key stages 2-5. It was also noticeable that the majority of other winners were from private schools and a further accolade of the girls’ achievement. They each received a sum of money, certificate presented by a representative of the Spanish Embassy and pencil case. A further outing to receive the second prize is planned shortly.