QPHS magazine - Autumn Term 2025 - Magazine - Page 9
PUZZLE MASTERS
National Language Competition
In November this year, a group of
four daring linguists accepted their
mission to compete in this year's
National Language Competition
(NLC). The NLC is a virtual
competition organised by GCHQ
(Government Communications
Headquarters) for teams aged 1314 from around the UK. Students
compete against each other to solve
language-based challenges and
score points. Team Quiet Cobra
worked tirelessly to solve puzzles,
crack codes, and decipher
messages in a diverse range of
languages, including Ethiopian,
Russian, and Spanish. Their
determination paid off as they
secured an impressive third place in
the North West region and ranked
among the top 100 teams out of
nearly 3,000 participants
nationwide.
Through this competition GCHQ
hopes to inspire young people by
encouraging them to discover and
appreciate their aptitude for learning
languages. Some of the tasks were
certainly challenging, but Team
Quiet Cobra showcased
outstanding teamwork and
I love languages and I love computing. Now
I can see a career in which I can use both.
Alona, Year 9 student
resilience throughout the
competition. Every student agreed
they would recommend taking part,
noting that even if languages aren9t
your strongest passion, the event is
great fun and an excellent way to
develop problem-solving skills.
Congratulations to Elliot, Eleanor,
Alona, and Olivia on this truly
remarkable achievement!
Where will languages take our
students next half term?
I liked the diversity of
the challenges and how they
required us to use our
problem-solving skills.
Eleanor, Year 9 student
