The Alliance Française Berthe Mouchette Competition   

On Friday 24 May, our Years 5 and 6 students participated in the French Poetry Competition run by the Alliance Française, also known as the Berthe Mouchette Competition.   

The girls recited a challenging French poem from memory, one-by-one in front of an external examiner. The theme of the Competition this year was Les Jeux Olympiques. Their recital is judged on pronunciation, rhythm, expression, and commitment to the task.    

It was a pleasure to see the girls having fun participating in the Competition and the sense of satisfaction they felt after their recitals. Here is a selection of reflections from the Years 5 and 6 classes:   

“Je m’appelle Gemma et je suis en 6B. Mon poème est Super Skate de Rika Zarai. My favourite word in my poem is ‘liberté.’ A sound that I mastered thanks to the competition is the ‘r’ sound. Now that I have recited my poem, I feel very accomplished and proud of myself.”   

“Je m’appelle Sophia et je suis en 6FW. Mon poème est La flamme Olympique de Farfelus. I loved getting the opportunity to compete in a French competition because it helped me become a better speaker. After reciting my poem, I felt proud of myself and glad I had done it!”   

“Je m’appelle Aimee et je suis en 6LW. Mon poème est Super Skate de Rika Zarai. My favourite word in my poem is ‘glisser.’ A sound that I have mastered thanks to the Competition is ‘r.’ How I feel now that I have recited my poem ‘super!’ I loved the experience competing in this poetry competition. It truly was amazing!”   

“Je m’appelle Elizabeth et je suis en en 5A. Mon poème est ‘Allez, allez, allez’ de Camille. My favourite word in my poem is ‘mousaillons.’ A sound that I have mastered thanks to the Competition is ‘é.’ I feel proud of myself for reciting the poem. Bonne chance!”   

“Je m’appelle Sienna et je suis en class 5A. Mon poème est ‘Allez, allez, allez’ de Camille. 

My favourite word is ‘allez’ and a sound I got better at is ‘ez.’ After reciting my poem, I felt proud of myself. Practising helped me memorise my poem and I felt happy when I memorised it.”   

“Je m’appelle Lola et je suis en classe 5J. Mon poème est ‘Allez, allez, allez’ de Camille. My favourite words were ‘ Allez, allez, allez.’ I mastered the sound ‘ou’ and I feel great now that I have finished the poem. I was scared but excited at the same time.”   

“Je m’appelle Alexa et je suis en class 5J. Mon poème est ‘Allez, allez, allez.’ My favourite word in the poem is ‘mousaillons.’ A sound I mastered thanks to the Competition is silent ‘p.’ I feel now that I have recited my poem very proud of myself.”   

It was also heartening to see parents enthusiastic about the Competition. Allegra’s Mum, Lucy, reflected that witnessing her daughter prepare for the Competition took her back to her first poetry competition in the 80s. She still remembers her poem Une fourmi de Robert Desnos. She enjoyed listening to Allegra recite her poem, Super Skate. Considering the amount of practice they have put in leading up to the Competition, we expect the girls to remember their poems from memory, like Lucy, for many years to come and look back on the experience fondly.