St John Plessington students win top prize at WHO Language Competition

Apr 20th, 2026

St John Plessington students designing their board game

Year 9 students studying Spanish at St John Plessington Catholic College, Bebington, secured first place in a language competition in partnership with the World Health Organisation (WHO).

Students from St John Plessington travelled to Rossall School, an independent boarding school in Fleetwood, Lancashire, to take part in its inaugural 'A spoonful of languages helps the medicine go down' day, designed to give participants first-hand experience of how languages play a vital role in global healthcare.

As part of the day's activities, which began with a keynote video from Alison Brunier, communications professional at WHO, school teams from across the North West were challenged to create and pitch a children's storybook and board game that highlighted a world health issue recognised by WHO such as hygiene, clean water access and infectious diseases.

St John Plessington students chose to focus on hygiene and using their Spanish language skills, students wrote and recorded a voiceover telling a unique story that would resonate with the estimated 150 million children worldwide who speak Spanish as their first language.

The story created by students was set in the Costa Rican rainforest and included two main characters, a young boy called Fran and a monkey named Monty. This added an increased challenge to the team's work as they also had to include words typically used by Costa Ricans who speak a distinct dialect of Central American Spanish.

To complement the storybook, students also had to use their language skills to develop and sell an educational board game. Practising their transactional skills, students had to order resources needed to make the game from the 'shop', before using their art and craft skills to create it.

Once created, students then had to pitch the game to competing schools in Spanish, explaining the rules and demonstrating game play.

St John Plessington's student team won 'Best Prize' for its board game, with judges stating that the board game rules: "Were simple, clear and easy to follow. You obviously have some budding salespeople in your team!"

One student who was part of the winning team said: "It was an amazing experience and it also gave me skills that I will take with me for life."

During the day, students also took part in a range of engaging workshops and deepened their understanding of the importance of languages, particularly Spanish, within WHO.

Mr Adam Tagg, languages teacher and trip leader, said: "The day was a great success, and our students gained a lot from participating. It was lovely to hear organisers praise their outstanding behaviour and participation throughout the competition. We look forward to defending our title again next year!"

Headteacher, Mr Peadar McLoughlin, added: "At St John Plessington Catholic College, we encourage our students to understand that success comes from everyone working together and it was fantastic to see this in action at the language competition. Determination is a key value of our school and students displayed it in abundance throughout both challenges. Well done to everyone who took part!"

St John Plessington Catholic College is a proud member of the Holy Family Catholic Multi Academy Trust (HFCMAT) which comprises nine schools, including two secondary and seven primary, across Wirral and Cheshire.

CEO of HFCMAT, Mr Andy Moor, commented: "Congratulations to the Year 9 Spanish students at St John Plessington for their remarkable achievements. Through their creativity and teamwork, they have demonstrated the very skills we aim to nurture all our students, enabling them to thrive in an ever-changing world."