Writes Emilie Danis, Head of French
Ranvir S. (Fifth Form) has achieved a remarkable distinction this year by winning the prestigious Oxford Flash Fiction Competition with his evocative piece, Les deux dauphins de France.
His story, both thought-provoking and powerful, skilfully explores complex themes of politics and environmental responsibility, demonstrating a maturity of insight and originality well beyond his years. The Oxford Flash Fiction Competition, organised in association with the University of Oxford, attracts a large number of submissions from talented young writers nationally, all challenged to craft compelling narratives within a tightly controlled word limit. There were no less than 1100 entries for this year across the three languages.
To be named overall winner for French in the Y10-11 category is therefore an exceptional accomplishment, recognising not only technical precision in writing but also creativity, originality and depth of thought. Ranvir’s success is a testament to his intellectual curiosity, linguistic ability and imaginative flair, and it also highlights the strength of Modern Foreign Languages at MTS, which continues to gain recognition at a national level. He should be immensely proud of this outstanding achievement. We certainly are!
Les deux Dauphins de France
Autrefois, il y avait deux Dauphins,
Les deux ont habité au Palais,
L’un à Versailles,
L’autre à la Mediteranée,
Ils ont presidé leur domaine,
Mais bien qu’un commandât au champ de bataille,
Et était le prince de la terre,
L’autre s’est amusé dans l’eau
Et était le prince de la mer,
L’un a passé son temps en attendant un couronnement,
L’autre était hereux, il existe tout simplement
Finalement, leur destin est le même
L’un est mort dans l’intérêt de liberté
Et l’autre meurt à cause du réchauffement.
