Phoebe Taylor Prize

The Phoebe Taylor Prize is awarded to the Best Spanish or Portuguese Translation Project each year in memory of alumna Phoebe Taylor.

The prize

The prize has a value of £500 and will be awarded to the Year Abroad Translation Project on Spanish or Portuguese awarded the highest mark. In case of tie, the prize will be awarded to the student with the highest mark overall.

The prize was made possible thanks to a generous donation by Phoebe Taylor’s family and has been awarded since 2022.

About Phoebe

Phoebe tragically took her own life in February 2021, succumbing to depression during Covid lockdown, and this translation prize has been established to honour her memory and love of the Spanish and Portuguese languages.

Phoebe Grace Taylor was an MML student at Clare College from 2007 to 2011. Her favourite language was Spanish in which she excelled. She obtained a first class degree and also won the Mallinson Prize for Languages at Clare College in her final year.

Her Year Abroad project focused on the translation of 14 poems by Uruguayan poet Mario Benedetti. Her translations are stunning - she had a real gift for capturing the original meaning and metaphors. The Portuguese language also became a passion and she continued to develop her fluency after leaving Cambridge.

Finding support

If you or someone you know is struggling with depression and invasive thoughts, help and support is available right now if you need it. You do not have to struggle with difficult feelings alone. NHS advice and UK helplines and Samaritans are available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. 

Support available to current students is listed on the University's student support website.