Vive la poésie!

Maurice Carême, Robert Desnos, Pierre Gamarra, Monique Müller, Andrée Chedid et Pierre de Ronsard were amongst some of the famous poets whose poems our students chose to interpret at this year’s Hong Kong Schools’ French Speech Competition.

Several students in Years 7, 8, 9 and 10 under the tutelage of Mesdames Vinay, Canuti, Heller and myself participated in the event in November of this year. They were required to learn a poem in French and to perform it for an audience and in front of native French jury members undoubtedly a nerve-racking undertaking for them. The strict assessment criteria included credit for their interpretation of the poem, their engagement with the audience and their delivery of the poem.

All of our students performed with poise and confidence and a notable mention is extended to Ricardo Chong (Y7), Andrea George, James Coward, Soham Chopra, Noah Begasse de Dhaem (all in Year 8), Elsa Tsia, Michele Liu, Janis Wong, Hayley Cheung, Adrian Wong (all in Year 9), Clare Cheung,Karina Au, Vereta Gour (all in Y10), who gave commendable performances, with accurate pronunciation and intonation.

We had five winners, one in the Year 7 cohort: Jason Liu who received a Second place award, two in the Year 8 cohort: Maddy Yates, who received a Second place award and Nathaniel Wong, who received a Third place award and two in the Year 9 cohort : Maxine Yang, who received a Third place award and finally Nicole Luk who received the honour of a First place!

The event brought together various Hong Kong schools and tough competitors such as St Paul’s Covent School, Diocesan’s Boys School, King George V and helped to make links with the wider French community. It has allowed our students to showcase their knowledge of the French language and to perform on stage in a foreign language. Ultimately, it has also provided new experiences and unforgettable memories for our students.

Un grand Bravo à tous!

Madame Lo
Teacher of French