In 2021, to mark the 100th birthday of Jacqueline Munro-Lafon, the Franco-Scottish Society of Scotland and SCILT came together to create an essay prize competition to commemorate her life and work. The judging criteria for this prize mirror elements of the writing marking guidelines for AH French, offering pupils an opportunity to showcase their French writing skills in a national forum with a first-place prize of £500, sponsored by the Franco-Scottish Society of Scotland, and two runner-up prizes of £100, sponsored by SCILT.
From 2024, the competition will be run by The Franco-Scottish Society of Scotland.
Eligibility:
- For learners of French at Advanced Higher level.
- This competition is not open to native French speakers nor those with a French heritage.
Requirements:
- The essay will be in French.
- Between 350 and 500 words in length.
- The essay will be reviewed and proofed once by you/the learner’s teacher before the final revision of the essay is submitted. This proof-reading and feedback, seen as a learning exercise, would be limited to drawing your learner’s attention to where improvements can be made in accuracy of language and style.
Timeline:
The 2024 competition is being run by the Franco-Scottish Society for Scotland.
- Registration is currently open for the 2024 competition! Register your interest in the 2024 competition by Monday 29 January.
- Competition information, including this year’s essay title, will be sent to registered schools by the end of January 2024.
- The deadline for participant submissions will be on Friday, 22 March 2024.
Madame Jacqueline Munro-Lafon
Madame Munro-Lafon was born in Paris on 27 January 1921 and experienced huge changes during her life in France and Scotland. She studied journalism and during her years as a student she became politically active, with a particular interest in demonstrating for the rights of workers and of women. In her working life she promoted French culture throughout Scotland in her work for the French Institute in Glasgow. In later life she maintained an interest in the arts, left-wing politics and in current affairs. Madame Munro-Lafon celebrated her 100th birthday on 27 January 2021 before passing away peacefully on 13 February, a fortnight after her birthday. To learn more about Madame Munro-Lafon, learners may wish to refer to this video.