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Argoed pupil receives recognition at County Hall

Published: 23/04/2015

A year ten pupil from Argoed High School in Mynydd Isa has been recognised by Flintshire County Council for her achievement in reaching the finals of the HSBC British Council Mandarin Awards competition. Charlie Greenall is 15 years old and has been studying Mandarin for eighteen months. Argoed High School was the only school in Wales to enter the HSBC British Council competition, entering both the team and individual events. Charlie won her round in the individual series and then went through to the finals, which were held at the British Museum in London in February. Charlie and her head teacher, Dawn Spence, recently visited County Hall in Mold, where Charlie’s achievement was recognised at a full meeting of the County Council. Charlie said: “I began learning Mandarin in the after school language club in Year 7 and then chose it as a GCSE option, in fact it was my first option to continue into Year 10. I have always been interested in the language and culture. When I first heard about the competition, I jumped at the opportunity of entering as an individual so that I could show others the skills I had learnt. A few months after competing in the heats held in London, I received confirmation that I had made it into the UK final for my category. The final took place at the British Museum in London and I was competing against some very strong speakers. Although I did not win the UK final, I learnt a great deal from the experience and my Mandarin improved very quickly as I prepared for the competition.” Head teacher of Argoed High School, Dawn Spence, said: “We are extremely proud of all of our competitors and especially Charlie, who not only represented the school but Flintshire and Wales too. Argoed High School was one of the first Confucius Classrooms in Wales and we have taught Mandarin and Chinese cultural studies for several years now. We have recently expanded to the provision of business language courses; anyone interested should contact the school.” Councillor Derek Butler, who is also learning Mandarin, welcomed Charlie to County Council. He added: “It is always pleasing to hear about the success of Flintshire pupils, and I would like to congratulate Charlie, on behalf of the County Council, for her fantastic achievement at a UK level. I am sure that she will continue to find the experience of learning Mandarin and Chinese cultural studies a rewarding and enriching one.” Image Pictured at County Hall are Cllr Chris Bithell, Cllr Glenys Diskin Chairman of Flintshire County Council, Ian Budd, Charlie Greenall, Cllr Derek Butler, Dawn Spence (Argoed High School).