Bella B Earns National Commendation for Outstanding Proust Translation in the Anthea Bell Prize for Young Translators 2026

Bella’s exceptional translation of a challenging French text by celebrated writer Marcel Proust was recognised by judges in this highly competitive national translation competition, run by The Queen’s College Translation Exchange at the University of Oxford.

Bella was praised as one of the pupils selected for recognition in a competition that attracted more than 25,000 entrants from across the UK. Over 5,400 of the very best submissions were reviewed by a panel of professional literary translators and Modern Languages specialists from the University of Oxford.

Judges noted the exceptionally high standard of entries this year, making the selection of winners and commendations particularly challenging. Bella’s success therefore represents an outstanding accomplishment. It reflects not only linguistic talent, but also the precision and cultural understanding required to bring the nuances of Proust’s writing from French into English.

Marcel Proust is widely regarded as one of France’s greatest literary figures, and translating his work demands a sophisticated grasp of language, style and meaning. Bella’s commendation is a testament to both dedication and skill, placing Bella amongst a small group of pupils recognised nationally for excellence in translation.

This achievement is especially impressive given the scale and quality of the competition, and it highlights the value of language learning in developing analytical thinking, communication and intercultural understanding.

Everyone at King’s is incredibly proud of Bella’s success. We congratulate Bella on this well-deserved recognition and look forward to seeing what future achievements lie ahead in the study of languages.