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Jesus College Essay Competition

Welcome to the Jesus College Essay Competition, in association with Oxplore!

CONGRATULATIONS to the winner of the 2023 essay competition, Phoebe. Phoebe (Year 10, Whitmore High School) wrote an essay on the question ‘Does gender matter?’ which wowed the judges with its nuanced approach and clarity of expression. You can read Phoebe’s winning essay here.

Congratulations are also due to this year’s runner-up, Cybil (St. Illtyd’s Catholic High School, Year 9) whose essay answered the question ‘Can we ever have nothing?’ with an impressive grasp of philosophical concepts. You can read Cybil’s essay here.

We had over a hundred entries to the essay contest this year, making this the biggest year of the competition yet! Well done and thank you to everyone who took the time to submit an entry. Our judges were amazed by the hard work that had been put in by all the entrants.

This year’s questions were:

Applicants must be a member of the Seren Foundation programme, which runs in state schools across Wales. Seren Foundation members are in years 8-11.

The first place applicant will receive £300 in book tokens and the second place will receive £200 in book tokens. If entries are particularly strong in one year, the markers may decide to award an additional small award to the third place candidate.

Entries will be accepted through our online application form. Please read all the information on the form thoroughly before you submit.

If you’re interested in developing your essay writing skills, check out our Essay Writing Workshop recorded in 2020. This session offers guidance on how to approach writing an essay and how you can make a strong submission. You’ll learn a bit about the history of essay writing too, and hopefully be inspired and motivated to enjoy using and developing your skills!

For further advice on essay-writing, keep an eye on our YouTube essay-writing playlist.

In 2022, participants submitted a 750 word essay answering one of the following Oxplore Big Questions!

Are humans more important than plants?

Can money buy happiness?

Could there be real-life X-men?

Do video games cause violence?

Is there life after death?

Should celebrities influence you more than your parents?

We received many fantastic entries for 2022 and our judges were bowled over by the quality! This year’s winners are:

1st place

Eleanor, Year 11, from Bishop of Llandaff Church in Wales High School, Llandaff.

Eleanor wrote a unique and convincing piece on ‘Can money buy happiness?’

Read Eleanor’s essay here.

2nd place

Alys, Year 8, from Ysgol Gyfun Gymraeg Plasmawr, Cardoff.

Alys’s entry for ‘Is there life after death?’ was considered mature and insightful by the judges.

Read Alys’ essay here.

Honourable mention:  

Some times we make an additional, small award for an entry that really intrigued but wasn’t quite a winner. This year, we’re delighted to award Jeneba, Year 10, from Saint Gabriel’s College in Lambeth! Jeneba wrote about the power dynamic between nature and man in a fascinating essay on ‘Are humans more important than plants?’

Read Jeneba’s essay here.