The writing competitions are a highlight in our academic year, showcasing the excellent work of Sixth Form students and the teachers who support them. Once again, we had a record number of entries this year and were greatly impressed by the quality and creativity of the submissions. Many congratulations to all who took part!
Dr Catherine Smale, Student Recruitment Lead in the Department of Languages, Literatures and Cultures
30 March 2026
A-Level writing competition winners announced
The Department of Languages, Literatures and Cultures announced the winners of its annual A-Level writing competitions, with the successful writers seeing their work published in the Department’s student magazines.
More than 150 students took part in the competitions this year as part of the Department’s outreach programme, which aims to show what it is like to study languages and literatures at university.
The winning entries have been published in the spring 2026 editions of the Department’s student magazines: Jargon (Comparative Literature), Des nouvelles, Héloïse? (French), Königspost (German), and Sobramesa (Spanish, Portuguese and Catalan).
All participants in the competition were invited to take part in a workshop at King’s College London earlier this week, where they had taster classes in topics ranging from medieval literature to contemporary French songs. They also heard from Student Ambassadors about their experiences of studying Modern Languages and Comparative Literature at King’s.
Comparative Literature
Students were invited to write an essay about one of their favourite loan words in English.
- Winner: Clara Rees
- Runners-up: Clara Capgras and Charlotte Linaker
- Highly commended: Onyinye Nwodoh
French competition
Students were asked to write an article in French on the place of the French language in society. Does it promote cohesion or exclude certain communities?
- Winner: Isabella Hagen-Zanker
- Runners-up: Amalya Boz and Amy Xu
German competition
Students were invited to imagine that they were one of the very first passengers to ride on the Wuppertal suspended railway, which celebrates its 125th anniversary this year. They were asked to write an account in German of their journey.
- Winner: Sophie Nye
- Runners-up: Moya Ge and Ben Milnes
- Highly commended: Sophia Strickland
Spanish & Portuguese competition
Students were invited to write an article or creative piece in Spanish or Portuguese in response to the question: what will a Spanish, Portuguese or Latin American city be like in 100 years?
- Winner: Emma Burt
- Runners-up: Julia Gray and Dakota Berry
If you are a secondary school teacher and would like to join our mailing list to hear more about our events and competitions for schools, please contact Dr Catherine Smale, Student Recruitment Lead for the Department, on catherine.smale@kcl.ac.uk.
In this story
Reader in German Studies
Professor of German and Medieval Studies