Congratulations to R. White of Year 11 who has just been selected as one of the 30 best students of Spanish in the country. This accolade has been given by the Spanish Embassy who chose her application from one of hundreds submitted from all over the country with the ultimate prize of a place on the 2009 Ruta Quetzal expedition.Ruta Quetzal was set up in 1979 by King Juan Carlos of Spain to promote understanding between young people in all Spanish speaking countries and the rest of the world. The competition starts each year in Spain where one Spanish national is chosen to represent their country, and then each Spanish Embassy abroad has its own competition to find a student to represent countries from the continents of Europe, Africa, Asia and America. These young people then get the opportunity to travel together through Spain and South America for six weeks during June and July 2009. The 2009 expedition will take the lucky participants firstly to Chile and Robinson Crusoe Island. They will then return to Europe and, after being presented to the King and Queen of Spain, will visit some of the most interesting of Spain’s regions – including Castilla León, Castilla la Mancha, Murcia, Andalucia, Valencia and Madrid. The next stage of the journey for her is a trip to London on Friday 12th December to meet fellow candidates, the Spanish ambassador and the committee who will make the final decision on who will be the representative for the UK. During a selection process on that day she will have to prove not only her Spanish skills and her knowledge of Spain and South America, but also her maturity, physical fitness and ability to keep cool under pressure. All that remains is to wish her the very best of luck. She has already done herself and the school proud by getting this far and, no matter what the outcome on the 12th of December, she is already a winner!Report by Mrs L. Hutcheson (very proud Spanish teacher!)Please visit the Ruta Quetzal website (in Spanish):http://www.rutaquetzalbbva.com/TLRQ/orRuta Quetzal web page, English translation:http://www.rutaquetzalbbva.com/TLRQ/index.php?id=7&L=1