A BEACONSFIELD schoolgirl with a head for French beat thousands of competitors this month to secure a podium finish in a major national spelling competition.

Year seven pupil Shiromee Gnanaran from Beaconsfield High School finished third in the national final of the Foreign Language Spelling Bee at Anglia Ruskin University in Cambridge on Friday, 5 July.

Shiromee battled through class, school and regional heats to reach the national finals in the French category.

Over 50,000 youngsters took part in this year’s competition, which is designed to encourage pupils to study foreign languages.

The contest, sponsored by the European Commission and run by Routes into Languages, requires year seven pupils to correctly spell the most number of words in French, Spanish or German in just 60 seconds.

Prizes were presented by Cambridge MP Julian Huppert, Angeliki Petrits, Language Officer for the European Commission, Cambridge Mayor Cllr Paul Saunders and actor Larry Lamb.

Mr Lamb, famous for his roles in EastEnders and Gavin and Stacey, is passionate about the importance of learning foreign languages and is fluent in Italian, Spanish, German and French.

He said: "Being able to speak a foreign language is so important and we should be proud that our language teachers up and down the country are doing such a wonderful job preparing our youngsters with these vital skills.

"I absolutely loved my day at Anglia Ruskin University and three cheers for the participants, who performed admirably and were a credit to their schools."

The competition was the brainchild of Cambridge teacher Jane Driver and has been extended across England, Wales and Scotland by Routes into Languages, a consortium of universities working with schools and colleges to encourage pupils to study languages.