It's not often that students sign up to miss classes in order to write a test, but that's
exactly what hundreds of middle and high school students did recently.

The annual McMaster French Contest attracts students from all across the region who
want to sharpen their language skills, with the added bonus of a shot at $5,000 in
prizes.

The three-hour test involves both written and oral components touching on everything
from grammar to French culture. The competition finished with individual interviews
with French department faculty. Winners are offered bursaries should they decide to
pursue studies at McMaster.

“It's a really great opportunity to introduce students to French studies in a post-
secondary environment,” said Stephanie Posthumus, assistant professor of French and
one of the organizers behind the event. “Students are curious about language, and
they're also competitive, so the contest appeals to both of those things.”

Details and results of this year's contest can be found here.
http://www.humanities.mcmaster.ca/~french/concours/index.html