La Rochelle 2021

V E R E N I G I N G S

English Olympiad

T H E N AT I ON A L E N G L I S H O LY M P I A D

E n g l i s h O l y m p i a d

FRONT: Isabella Colatruglio, Annamarie Mans, Rebecca Rossouw, Inge van der Westhuizen, Mr Joerg Neethling (Liaison Teacher), Zoë Vassilatos, Bronwyn Matthews, Stella-Maria Horvath, Kelsey van Sitters BACK: Tarryn de Wet, Chané Calitz, Mila Malherbe, Erin Meyer, Leigh-ann Dippenaar, Hannah Prozesky

I s p e c i f i c a l l y a s k e d w h e t h e r I c o u l d w r i t e t h i s r e p o r t a s i t w i l l b e m y l a s t i n v o l v e m e n t i n t h e E n g l i s h O l y m p i a d a f t e r f o u r d e c a d e s o f b e i n g c h a l l e n g e d a n d i n s p i r e d t o t h i n k o u t o f t h e b o x . I take my hat off to all the learners over the years who have grabbed the opportunity with both hands to tap into the creative resources they might not have been aware they possessed and to break boundaries and venture into unexplored terrain with their imaginations. This year’s Olympiad once again set the bar exceptionally high, but as befits the true Larrie spirit, the girls rose to the occasion and conquered this Everest with aplomb. The theme ‘ People and Personas’ , based on the anthology ‘ This is my Story’ , struck a resounding chord with everybody and challenged each candidate to step out of her comfort zone and climb into some- one else’s skin and walk around in it ( To Kill a Mockingbird ).

The three afternoon workshops were well attended and elicited vigorous debate and the sharing and refining of diverse ideas. Each participant developed psychoanalytical skills and gained extensive insight into the complexities of the human condition. The majority were also brave and bold enough to share some of their own stories. Eventually sixteen courageous young ladies faced the Titan of the three- hour examination on Tuesday, 16 March. With questions such as ‘What is it like to be normal?’ and ‘To what extent are the characters in Rejection marginalized and disenfranchised?’; themes of hope and the importance of

education and asking the candidates to write an alternative or a rounded- off ending to a particular text in the anthology, the battle lines were well and truly drawn. I am, however, proud to say that apart from some sore fingers and wrists, the Larries departed the scene with triumphant expressions on their faces. I sincerely hope that La Ro- chelle will continue to be a force to be reckoned with in the hurly-burly of The National English Olympiad in the years to come. A laurel wreath to each of the fol- lowing Larries for their outstanding results in 2021:

SILVER

BRONZE

MERIT

Isabella Colatruglio

Chané Calitz

Jessica Eckhardt

Tarryn de Wet

Leigh-ann Dippenaar

Stella-Maria Horvath

Mila Malherbe

Annamarie Mans

Erin Meyer

Bronwyn Matthews

Erin van der Berg

Hannah Prozesky

Kelsey van Sitters

Rebecca Rossouw Inge van der Westhuizen Zoë Vassilatos

Sir JN

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