State school students in years 8-11 in Jesus College’s link regions of Wales and the London boroughs of Lambeth and Wandsworth are being challenged to write an essay on a ‘big question’ as part of a new competition.

The competition is being run by the College’s Access & Outreach team in collaboration with the University of Oxford’s Oxplore programme – a digital resource that aims to challenge young people aged from 11-18  with debates and ideas that go beyond what is covered in the classroom. Budding writers must choose from a pre-set list of Oxplore Big Questions and produce a 750 word essay that should explore and answer their chosen question. On offer to the essay prize winner is £300 in book tokens, with the runner-up receiving £200 in book tokens.

Topics for the 2021 Big Question essay include Could we end disease? Do aliens exist? Does truth exist? Is a robot a person? and Is it OK to ban certain books? 

To support school students with their essays, the Access and Outreach team have produced a special film full of guidance and useful tips for producing a strong submission – Essay Writing Workshop

The deadline for submission is 12:00 (midday) and Friday 4th June 2021.and more information can be found on the competition page here.