Skip to content

Surrey students fare well at B.C. French-language competition – again

Twenty-two make finals, nine earn medals
16766613_web1_190509-PAN-M-French-winners
Earl Marriott Secondary students Kiana Verrier (left) and Ben Tyler were among nine Surrey students to earn medals at the May 4 Concours d’art oratoire. (Canadian Parents for French BC & Yukon photos)

Nine Surrey students, including a pair from South Surrey, have walked away from an annual provincewide French-language competition with hardware.

According to a news release issued Thursday morning, the students were among 209 from across B.C. – and 22 from Surrey – to compete in the provincial Concours d’art oratoire at SFU Surrey on May 4.

The contest, in its 36th year, is described as “an outstanding showcase and celebration of excellence in French language education.”

Surrey students scored wins in categories including Early Immersion (Liam Quan, Grade 6, École Martha Currie, second place), Intensive French (Roop Dhillon and Kashish Bal, Grade 6/7, École Frost Road, second and third, respectively), Late Immersion (Sarah Hwang, Grade 7, École K.B. Woodward, third), Francophone (Kiana Verrier, Grade 9, Earl Marriott Secondary, second), Immersion (Ben Tyler, Grade 9, EMS, first; Simone Saini, Grade 10, Kwantlen Park Secondary, third) and Core French (Anka Stefanovic, Grade 8/9, Southpointe Academy, first; Kaitlyn Lu, Grade 11/12, Fleetwood Park Secondary, first).

The other 13 Surrey finalists hailed from Peace Arch Elementary (Amélie Hall, Louis Wright), Laronde Elementary (Felix Bubbar), K.B. Woodward Elementary (Elisha Zeng), Southpoint Academy (Christie Liu, Zahraa Rehmtulla, Shivan Vij, Harrison Macey), Salish Secondary School (Kelly-Anne Gardner, Shana Nursoo, Ryan Zrymiak), Frank Hurt Secondary (Simarpreet Singh) and Elgin Park Secondary (Maggie Huang).

The showing was not the first time Surrey students have fared well at the Concours d’art oratoire.

Last year, Surrey set 14 students to the finals.

READ MORE: South Surrey students receive top honours at provincial French speaking competition

Greer Cummings, president of Canadian Parents for French BC & Yukon, said through participating, “students develop their public speaking and relationship building skills in French, and ultimately the confidence to express their ideas clearly.”

“These capacities are highly valued in today’s global society, making these students more adaptable and employable in a dynamic and competitive landscape. As effective communicators, these students will become the leaders of tomorrow. We are so proud of all our Concours participants,” Greer said in the release.



Tracy Holmes

About the Author: Tracy Holmes

Tracy Holmes has been a reporter with Peace Arch News since 1997.
Read more