Congratulations to Lucy, one of our Year 10 Japanese students who has been selected as one of the KS4 pre-GCSE category finalists in this year’s prestigious Nihongo Cup. The Nihongo Cup is a Japanese speech contest for secondary school students. Finalists are invited to perform their speech at the Nissan Institute of Japanese Studies, University of Oxford in front of a panel of judges and VIPs from the field of Japanese language education and Japan-UK relations, for the chance to win some fantastic prizes – including a trip to Japan! A group of Year 10 students had just started their entry prep when the Coronavirus struck and so it was touch and go whether they would enter the competition at all. However, a number of the students were very keen to continue and so preparations resumed, this time remotely. Japanese teacher Mrs Sands said ‘I was amazed by the students’ calmness given the circumstances at the time (the UK was about to enter lock-down), and was impressed by their determination to complete the initial entry requirements for selection. Lucy is a natural linguist and is so excited!’