Language competition winners visit GCHQ

On Monday 9th January, GCHQ’s Language Outreach Teams invited the winners of the 2022 National Language Competition, The Perse School, to our Cheltenham headquarters to learn about life as a Language Analyst at GCHQ and to also receive their trophy.

The day began with the four pupils and their teacher receiving a tour of the museum from our Historian David Abrutat, who told them about GCHQ’s contribution to the UK’s security over the past 100 years.

Then followed a session with our Director Sir Jeremy Fleming, where he set out how languages, and therefore our Language Analysts, were at the heart of everything GCHQ does. He explained how our language analysts bring deep cultural, analytical, reporting and technical expertise to their work, so that we can maintain an awareness of what is going on in the world.

The students were then presented with the NLC trophy. Each participant also received a personalised NLC winners coin from our Director, to serve as a reminder of both the excellent effort they put into the competition, and as a memento of their day.

The students were also given the opportunity to meet a group of language analysts, who gave the pupils an outline of their diverse backgrounds, careers and paths to GCHQ. Our analysts highlighted that whether the students choose to study languages at school or university, or nurture their own heritage language, both routes offer an enriching set of opportunities for a career in languages.

The visit ended with a tour around GCHQ’s 24/7 operations centre, where the pupils were shown how we respond around the clock to events across the world.

The National Language Competition will take place again in 2023. Look out for further information on our website later this year.