Students from The Bear Creek School earned honors from the National Latin Exam Committee for their performance on a introductory latin exam they took in March.

This year, all 53 eighth-grade students from Bear Creek took the Introduction to Latin National Latin exam with excellent results.

Two students, Rebecca Carlson and Emily Huston, both from Redmond, received a perfect score as determined by the National Latin Exam committee. Only 328 students of the 18,100 students achieved a perfect score. Test takers hailed from 15 countries.

Twenty-one students scored between 88 and 99 percent and were recognized by the committee and received an outstanding achievement award.

The students from Redmond who received this award are Grace Carruth, Colin Diamond, Jesse Domingo, Kenny Dyer, Wendy Hsia, Michael Lau, Sammy Olson, Adam Worley and Megan Wurden.

Additionally, nine more students were given a certificate of merit for their scores.”We have found that students who learn Latin — aside from having a fun and educational experience — gain untold benefit in their other subjects too.

In English, for example, students with a Latin background have increased understanding of vocabulary words that are derived from Latin and have a better grasp of grammar.

“It’s no coincidence that students who learn Latin in school get higher test scores,” said James Woollard, Middle School Division Head at The Bear Creek School.

The exam originated in 1977 with about 6,000 students participating. Since then, it has grown to approximately 140,000 participants in 2010.

It is sponsored by the American Classical League and the National Junior Classical League. Both organizations are devoted to the study of Latin and promotion of the Classics. It is open to all students enrolled in Latin during the academic year and offers seven levels of exams. Students from all 50 states and about 13 foreign countries participate annually.