schools

meet the participating schools

In 2011 a total of 12 primary schools across London and the South East took part in the Translation Nation project, engaging with children and parents speaking 35 languages between them. Over three days, the children worked with a language expert to explore literature in translation and their own diverse community languages.

At each school up to 60 pupils took part in the first session which introduced literary translation through world literature and music. On the second day parents were invited to the school to share stories, fairy tales and poems in their home languages. Around 15 children worked in three groups, each including at least one native English speaker, to produce creative English translations of the stories and to present them in a school assembly on the final day. One story was chosen as the favourite translation and recorded for the Translation Nation website. By celebrating the diversity of languages spoken in UK primary schools, Translation Nation provided an opportunity for the children to gain an insight into other cultures and to take pride in their own language and heritage. The project sought to improve the creative writing and language skills of all the pupils, while boosting the confidence of the foreign language speakers.

By following the links to the right, you can find out more about each school’s Translation Nation experience and listen to an audio recording of the winning translation.

Please click on the Resources link at the top of this page for information on how you can recreate aspects of the Translation Nation project in your school, as well as other useful resources for teaching staff.

Stephen Spender Trust Arts Council England The Mercers Company Creative Partnerships Eastside Educational Trust