The Translation Exchange trains university students to become Creative Translation Ambassadors and run creative translation workshops in schools. We also produce resources for teachers to use in the classroom, and virtual workshops for young people to access from their homes.
The Creative Translation Ambassadors scheme trains university students to deliver workshops to pupils aged 8 to 18, either in the classroom or via virtual platforms. With an emphasis on translation as a creative, inspiring, and inclusive activity, these workshops channel the students’ expertise in translation and enthusiasm for language-learning and literature into enriching literary experiences for young people from primary age upwards.
Workshops in Practice
Creative Translation Ambassadors deliver their own creative translation workshops in local state primary and secondary schools. Creative Translation is an inclusive approach to language learning that raises academic and professional aspiration for pupils of Modern Languages and provides the inspiring literary and cultural content that is limited in the current languages curriculum.Â
Our workshops encourage pupils to work creatively and collaboratively with languages, as they translate text in languages they may not know and come up with inventive solutions in English. As well as being exposed to inspiring literary and cultural content, pupils have the opportunity to interact with our student ambassadors, who are passionate advocates for languages.
Activities are accessible to students of all levels, and capitalise on pupils’ diverse backgrounds and languages, with specific benefits for pupils who have English as an Additional Language. Creative Translation is a method that recognises multilingualism as a social justice issue.
As an Ambassador I had the opportunity to connect with young minds and experienced authors, having the honour to form a bridge between the two. Knowledge grows by sharing; the more I have talked about my experience with languages, the more I have learnt from others as well.
Jasmine, German and History
The Training Programme
Our ambassadors receive training from practitioners experienced workshop delivery, teaching, and professional literary translation, often in collaboration with the Stephen Spender Trust (SST). Facilitators include Ruth Ahmedzai Kemp (Translator and SST Associate), Rahul Bery (Translator and SST Associate), Lucy Rand (Translator, Editor and SST Associate), Charlotte Ryland (Director of QTE and SST) and Stacie Allan (Translator and SST Associate).
The ambassador scheme in Oxford is run in partnership with the University of Oxford’s Department of Education. PGCE students in Modern Languages actively take part, organising workshops in their host schools, and training our undergraduate Ambassadors on classroom management.
To date we have also trained students at:
- University of Oxford;
- University of Cambridge;
- University of East Anglia, in partnership with the British Centre for Literary Translation and the National Centre for Writing;
- University of Sheffield, in partnership with the Dutch Foundation for Literature;
- University College London, in partnership with the Dutch Foundation for Literature;
- Durham University.
The British Centre for Literary Translation has worked closely with QTE for a number of years now. We are grateful for the expert advice, guidance, materials, teaching and support given, which has allowed us to run our own successful annual Creative Translation in Schools programme with local young people.
Through the Creative Translation Ambassadors training programme, participating undergraduates and postgraduates develop and practise numerous professional skills, including presentation and public-speaking, teamwork, leadership and negotiation. It also connects the students to their local community and fuels a civic mission to support widening participation and language-learning.
Ambassadors Gallery
Photo © 2025 Edmund Blok
Photo © 2026 Edmund Blok
Photo © 2026 Edmund Blok
Photo © 2025 Edmund Blok
Photo © 2022 David Fisher
Vice-Chancellor’s Awards 2026
In June 2026, we were awarded a Vice Chancellor’s Award in the Local Community Engagement category for our work delivering creative translation workshops to over 700 pupils across Oxfordshire. This included pupils in Years 4-13 and involved 16 local state schools. You can read more about the award here.
If you would like more information about our Creative Translation Ambassadors programme, visit this page or get in touch with us at translation.exchange@queens.ox.ac.uk.
