Outstanding success at Mandarin competition

We are celebrating exceptional results at the 2026 Chinese Bridge Mandarin Speaking Competition, a prestigious national event bringing together students from across the UK.

A record-breaking seven students reached this year’s national finals, achieving success across both individual and group categories. A team of Scarlett B (Year 8), Eliza D (Year 8), Violet P (Year 8), Alexander L (Year 9) and James W (Year 9) were crowned Group Beginner Champions with a confident and creative performance. Notably, the group’s Mandarin play was written by James W and Alexander L, showcasing both linguistic ability and creativity.

In the individual competition, Miroslava L (Year 12) achieved an outstanding 2nd place in the Advanced category, marking her fourth national top-three finish. Since the competition’s relaunch in 2022, she is the only candidate to achieve top-three finishes across multiple levels over four separate years, demonstrating sustained excellence from beginner to advanced level. She is also the only student from a non-selective state school to achieve a podium finish in the Advanced category, highlighting the significance of her achievement.

Luca S (Year 8) achieved an excellent 2nd place in the Beginner+ category on his first appearance at the competition, highlighting the strength of Bohunt’s emerging talent.

These results were achieved in a highly competitive national field, with more than 70 schools and over 300 students from across the UK taking part. The competition included strong representation from selective and independent schools such as Brighton College, Queen Mary’s Grammar School and Highgate School, and Bohunt students performed exceptionally well alongside them, demonstrating the strength of our inclusive and high-expectation approach to language learning.

Record-breaking achievements

This year’s results mark a number of significant milestones:

• Bohunt School is the only school in the UK to achieve podium finishes across five main competition categories
• Miroslava L is the only student to achieve four top-three finishes across multiple levels
• Miroslava and Alexander L are the only siblings in the UK to both achieve podium finishes
• Mrs Miki Carter, who began coaching for the competition at Bohunt as a trainee teacher, is the only coach to achieve top-three finishes across three individual categories alongside group success

The annual competition preparation is led by Mrs Miki Carter, Teacher of Mandarin and Maths and Year 8 Mandarin CLIL tutor, who received a Best Tutor Award from the competition committee last year, and is supported by colleagues across the Mandarin, MFL, Drama and Maths departments, as well as Confucius Institute volunteer teacher Miss Yifei Jia, who will begin teacher training at Bohunt next year.

Looking ahead, Bohunt plans to expand participation further, including entering a Group Intermediate team (Years 9 and 10) again next year (having previously won in 2023), and opening opportunities to all Mandarin learners beyond the CLIL programme. Students interested in taking part are encouraged to register their interest via school enquiries.

Co heads Lucy Broad and Hannah Green said

“This achievement is exceptional and thoroughly deserved, we are incredibly proud of the students’ success at the competition. This reflects not only their dedication and hard work, but also the high expectations and commitment of our Mandarin team. These results reflect Bohunt’s commitment to ensuring outstanding outcomes and offering unparalleled opportunities to our students.”