Berthe Mouchette Competition Terms & Conditions


Section 1. GENERAL CONDITIONS


Article 1- The Berthe Mouchette Competition (Referred to as BMC hereafter) of the Alliance Française of Melbourne (referred to as AFM hereafter) is open to all students in Victoria from Year 3 to Year 12.

Article 2–The enrolment fees, and the dates of the examinations, final results and Awards ceremony are published on the AFM website. The AFM is engaged to respect them where reasonably possible and to communicate any changes as soon as possible.

Article 3 – While the examinations are being conducted, participants must not possess mobile phone or electronic devices with them except for the sole purpose of participating in the competition to partake in the oral exam with a BMC examiner via the video-conferencing platform.

Article 4 - Students must not allow, induce, communicate with, or assist any other person to present for the exam in their place.
They must not present for the examination in another participant’s place.

Article 5 - Participants may seek assistance from the teacher or the examiner in case of any technical issue.

Article 6 - All participants receive a certificate and prizes are awarded to the 1st, 2nd, 3rd place & Hors categorie winners of each year level. Recipients of a mention spéciale de jury also receive an award. The prizes are determined by the AFM and may not be negotiated.

Article 7 - The Prix Alliance Française de Melbourne for the best Y11 winner is a pass to one VCE Immersion day at AFM.

Article 8 - HORS-CATEGORIE, FRENCH SPEAKING STUDENTS

8.1 Candidates are considered hors-categorie if they fall into either of the following:

8.2 Hors-categorie students are marked according to the same standards as others but are competing against other hors-categorie candidates only.

8.3 We ask for teachers’/enroller's cooperation in writing (HC) in the appropriate column of the Student List next to these hors-categorie candidates at the time of registration, as well as explaining to students the meaning of this category.

8.4 Students enrolled in a bilingual program at one of the following bilingual schools, Camberwell Primary School, Caulfield Junior College, Auburn High School and Glen Eira College, are not hors-categorie but participate in the Berthe Mouchette Competition in an entitled category (see section 5)

Article 9 - Students enrolled in VCE units 1 & 2 must be enrolled in and participate as a Year 11 candidate in the competition; students enrolled in VCE units 3 & 4 must be enrolled in and participate as a Year 12 candidate in the competition.

Article 10 – By submitting an entry the participant accepts all competition conditions. No appeal on the method of the organisation or on the results of the competition will be accepted. No detailed feedback on individual performance will be communicated. The jury's decisions will be final.

Article 11 - Participants of the competition grant the AFM the right to use, reproduce and communicate the pictures and videos taken of them in AFM publications including the AFM website, social media, and slideshow presentation of the Awards ceremony.

Article 12 - Payment must be made prior to participation through our website and/or upon receipt of an invoice via EFT or over the phone to our reception. Please note the fees are inclusive of GST.

Article 13 - A list of all students enrolled together with a confirmation of scheduled assessment date will be e-mailed to the participating school prior to the assessments.  Any change whatsoever must be communicated at least one week before the assessment date. Please advise of any misspellings or changes by e-mail only. There will be no refund for students enrolled in the examination and not showing up on the day.

Article 14 – All BMC examiners have valid Working with Children Checks; have completed the State Government required Training - Protecting Children - Mandatory Reporting and other obligations; and are bound to the AFM Child Safety Policy.

Article 15 -  Parental/guardian permission is required for each student to be able to participate.  The permission form is available from the coordinator.

Article 16 – The competition's terms and conditions are available to all participants. The person who enrols in the BMC accepts these Terms & Conditions.


Section 2. ORAL EXAM


Article 1 – The oral exam is one option given to Y3 to Y12 students participating in the Berthe Mouchette Competition. It is not compulsory. It can be taken whether or not the student is taking the written test.

Article 2 – The oral test for Y3 to Y10 students is a recital of a poem to be chosen from the AFM selection.

Article 3- The oral test for Y11 to Y12 students consist of two sections, both of which must be undertaken by the participant. The first section is a general conversation of 4 minutes. The second section, 5-minutes-long, is either the recital of a poem or the discussion of a picture/object, all followed by questions from the examiner related to the poem or the chosen topic.

Article 4-  The examiners are formally selected and trained by the AFM and their decision is final. No detailed feedback on individual performance will be communicated.

Article 5 - While the examinations are being conducted, participants must not possess mobile phone or electronic devices with them except for the sole purpose of participating in the competition to partake in the oral exam with a BMC examiner via the video-conferencing platform.

Article 6- Only the examiner, the teacher (or one other responsible adult) and the participant may be present during the poetry recital or oral assessment.

Article 7- RECITAL OF THE POEM

7.1 Students recite one poem from a choice of two for their Year level.
7.2 The poems must be learnt off by heart.
7.3 The title of the poem and the name of the poet must be cited.
7.4 The poem recited must be exactly as cited on the AFM website.
7.5 Students may bring a hard copy of the poems to the exam room, but they will be marked accordingly.

Article 8 - YEARS 3-10 OPTIONS to participate :

OPTION A

OPTION B

Article 9 – YEARS 11-12 OPTIONS to participate :

OPTION A

OPTION B


Section 3. WRITTEN EXAM


Article 1 – The written exam is one option given to Y9 to Y12 students participating in the Berthe Mouchette Competition. It is not compulsory. It can be taken whether or not the student is taking the oral test.

Article 2 - A teacher must be present in the examination room of the school to supervise the exam.

Article 3 - Students who arrive more than 5 minutes after the start of the exam will not be able to sit the exam. Students are not allowed to leave the classroom during the exam.

Article 4 - Examiners are allowed to clarify, in English, the exam instructions, if they are asked to do so by the students. Examiners must not translate any of the sentences or words from the exam paper.

Article 5 - The students are strictly forbidden to copy or share their answers. If the examiner, or the corrector, have any reason to believe that participants have been copying each other during the exam, they reserve the right to disqualify them from the competition.

Article 6 - Students are not allowed to bring their own copybooks and papers to the exam room. They must use the paper provided .

Article 7 - Students are allowed to have their own pencil case on the table. They are allowed to use an English-French dictionary (hard copy only).

Article 8 - The written exam remains the property of the AFM and will not be returned.  The school/student may make a copy of the completed exam paper for their own feedback purposes before sending it back to the AFM. 

Article 9 - A minimum of 4 participants per year level per school must be enrolled in order to receive the written exam for that year level.


Section 4. DRAWING COMPETITION


Article 1 - This competition is only open to students from Y3 to Y6 who are participating in the Berthe Mouchette poetry recitation for Victorian schools.

Article 2 - The participants are invited to illustrate the poem chosen with a drawing expressing their vision of it.

Article 3 - The drawing has to be produced in A4 format and on only one side of the sheet with coloured pencils, textas, crayons or pens only. (No paint or collage). Drawings that use other materials will not be accepted. Please note that drawings should not be laminated.

Article 4 - Title of the poem has to be on the same side as the drawing. (a caption is also allowed but should not exceed 5 lines).

Article 5 -The participant’s full name should be written on the back of the drawing, together with the year level and the name of the school. Student details noted on the front of the drawing will be disqualified.

Article 6 - The postage is the school’s responsibility. (Teachers may organise a selection of the best drawings but please note we welcome all drawings).

Article 7 -The deadline for receipt of drawings is the 19th July 2024. We take no responsibility for entries that are lost, delayed, misdirected or incomplete or cannot be delivered or entered for any technical or other reason.

Article 8 – The jury will be presided over by the director of the AFM assisted whenever possible by a guest Artist. AFM staff and/or board members are invited to compose the judging panel. The decision is final and no correspondence will be entered into.

Article 9 – The best drawings will receive a prize.

Article 10 -The winners of the competition grants the AFM the right to use, reproduce and communicate the winning drawing in AFM publications including the AFM Magazine, website, social media, and slideshow presentation of the prize giving ceremony. A selection of drawings will be exhibited during the prize giving ceremony.

Section 5. BILINGUAL SCHOOLS CATEGORY


Article 1- Students currently enrolled in one of the following Bilingual school programs, Camberwell Primary School, Caulfield Junior College, Auburn High School and Glen Eira College, enter the competition in a separate category and are entitled to a different prize, the Prix des Ecoles Françaises.

Article 2- Only a 1st place winner prize will be awarded to each year level.

Article 3- The Y7 to Y10 students from bilingual schools are required to write a poem based on a topic provided by the AFM. They do not recite the poem. The Y3 to Y6 students from bilingual schools recite a poem from a selection specifically for the Prix des Ecoles Françaises chosen by the AFM.

Article 4- The written poems are anonymous, must not be signed, or present any distinctive mark.

Article 5 – Students participating in this category cannot participate in any other sections of the competition.  They cannot recite a poem as an hors-categorie student; nor can they participate in the written exam section as an hors-categorie student.

Section 6. PRIVACY & PROTECTION


Article 1 - A participant’s ‘personal information’ (as that term is defined in the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth)) will only be used by AFM for the sole purpose of the Berthe Mouchette Competition under the Terms & Conditions of such. This includes publishing the winners’ names and school on the AFM website, social media and slideshow presentation of the prize giving ceremony.

 Article 2 - The AFM  will make reasonable efforts to keep any such information secure and to ensure that our employees or agents with access to participants’ personal information do not make any unauthorised use, modification, reproduction or disclosure of that information.

Article 3 - For all digital (audio & video) content submitted by participating schools and participants AFM will ensure it is stored in an appropriately secure format and held by the website service provider of the AFM for the duration of the competition after which they will be destroyed.

Article 4 -  All digital (audio & video) content submitted by participating schools and participants will remain the property of the AFM and will not be divulged to any third party, nor will it be sold.

Section 7. PROMOTION & MEDIA OPPORTUNITIES

 

Article 1 - By entering the competition, the participant agrees that content submitted may be used by the AFM for non-sale promotional purposes. This may include placing samples of the winning entries on the AFM website, social media and slideshow presentation of the prize giving ceremony.
 
Article 2 - Where an image of the participant is used, the participant’s name will not be revealed unless express authorisation from the parent/guardian is given to the AFM. 

Article 3 - By entering the competition, winners of the Berthe Mouchette Competition automatically agree, where possible, to publicly perform their poem at the request of the AFM for a 12-month period from the close of the competition.


To view our Child Safe Policy,  please click here.