Salopians impress the judge in this year's Richard Hillary Essay Medal

This annual, prestigious and avowedly academic event is named after Old Salopian Richard Hillary and duly modelled on the historic competition used to select Fellows of All Souls College, Oxford.

It provides an opportunity for Shrewsbury Sixth Formers to use their creative and analytical skills and pit their wits against a one-word, unseen essay title. This year’s title, with explicit links to our whole school work on diversity and inclusion, was ‘Respect.’ With other 30 entrants, there were some truly excellent entries with ten being eventually shortlisted. This year’s shortlist was judged by Dr Russell Foster, Lecturer in British and European Politics at King’s College London. This year’s final results are as follows.

Overall Winner

George C (Rb, UVI)

Examiner Comments: “This year’s Richard Hillary Medal goes to George C for his exemplary essay on the universalism and particularism of respect. Within a very well-planned essay, George demonstrates the need to appreciate how the meanings and interpretations of respect vary between individuals and societies across time and space, the significance of respect, as a human right, is universal and inalienable. With a combination of critical analysis and persuasive argument, this essay stands out in a very close-run race between ten outstanding scholars.”

Highly Commended

Romilly B (MSH, LVI)

Examiner Comments: “Romilly composed a superb analysis of the role of gender in framing and narrating respect, persuasively demonstrating how a gendered approach illuminates disparities that can easily go unnoticed.”

Sapna C (G, LVI)

Examiner Comments: “Sapna similarly uses race to offer a brilliant postcolonial critique of passive respect, urging us to consider the importance of actively defending that which we claim to respect.”

Eva L (MSH, LVI)

Examiner Comments: “Eva’s poem dazzles with its effortless skill and grace, revealing a blossoming creativity.”

Shortlisted

Siena G (M, LVI)

Eustacia F (M, UVI)

Martha S (M, UVI)

Charlie H (M, UVI)

Eva H (G, LVI)

Joss G (S, LVI)

Many congratulations to the above and, indeed, to all those who took part in this creative and challenging example of academic enrichment.

R.A. Kowenicki (Deputy Head Academic) & H.G. Mackridge (Head of Academic Innovation)