Two Surrey students take home medals at provincial French-speaking competition

Panorama Ridge's Mireia Cuenca (left) and Earl Marriott's Dhruv Mehta took home medals at this year's Concours D’Art Oratoire.Two Surrey students are celebrating after bringing home medals from this year's B.C. and Yukon Concours D'art Oratoire, a provincial French-speaking competition.

Dhruv Mehta, a Grade 11 student at Earl Marriott Secondary, placed first in the Core French 11/12 category, while Mireia Cuenca, a Grade 9 student at Panorama Ridge Secondary, took second in the French Immersion 9 category.

Hosted by the Canadian Parents for French (CPF), this year's competition took place May 6 at Simon Fraser University's Surrey campus and saw more than 150 students across BC and the Yukon participate.

The event was open to youth from Grades 6 to 12, and the Grade 11 and 12 winners, including Dhruv Mehta from Earl Marriott, were invited to take part in the national competition at the end of May, which will be held virtually.

The Concours D'art Oratoire was created to encourage and support bilingualism in Canada while providing French-speaking students with an event and a community of active French language learners. The competition also aims to demonstrate the relevance of French language instruction in the real world.

Prizes for this year's provincial competition are yet to be determined, but previous years have included bursaries and CPF prize packs for winners and participants. Prizes for the upcoming national competition include scholarships at several Canadian universities, some totaling up to $33,000.

To see the other winners and learn more about the CPF and the Concours d'art oratoire, click here.