Winners Announced
Winners of Personal Liberty, Mutual Respect and Tolerance: From Values to Virtues Writing Prize Announced
The winners of the Values to Virtues Writing Prize for school pupils in Key Stage 3 and 4 have been announced today.
After receiving a number of very high quality entries, and combining scores from the whole research team, which included specialists in the history, philosophy, sociology and psychology of education, the following winners were agreed:
Key Stage 4 Winner: Finn Lay - South Wilts Grammar School
Key Stage 3 Winner: Harriet Cain - South Wilts Grammar School
1st Runner Up: Sarab Sian - King Edward's Camp Hill School for Girls
South Wilts Grammar School, which produced prize-winners in both age groups, commented: We are delighted to see such thoughtful, compassionate advocates express themselves so clearly and are proud to see them represent their communities with such aplomb.
Principal Investigator on the Project, Dr David Lundie, said: I am very grateful to all of the entries for this prize. Secondary students from across England shared critical perspectives on a whole range of issues, drawing on human rights, intersectionality, and of course sharing with us their personal experiences, reflecting on what their own values mean to them. The winners should be very proud of their achievements.
The winners will receive a prize of £100, and winning schools will receive £200 to spend on teaching resources.
Personal Liberty, Mutual Respect and Tolerance: From Values to Virtues is a research project exploring the impact of schools' approaches to the 'fundamental British values' policy agenda in England. It is a collaboration between the University of Glasgow, Liverpool Hope University and Sapienza University Rome, made possible thanks to a generous grant from the Templeton Religion Trust.
Young Person’s Writing Prize
This writing competition invites young people in secondary schools (Years 7-11) to reflect on what values mean to them. The winning entry and runners up will have their essays published and win prizes of up to £100 for individuals and £200 for the winner’s school.
There are two categories for this competition:
- For Key Stage 3 pupils (Year 7-9)
- For Key Stage 4/GCSE pupils (Year 10-11)
In each category, a prize will be awarded for the best essay of up to 1,500 words on the theme of any or all of the ‘fundamental British values’ of democracy, rule of law, personal liberty, mutual respect and tolerance.
As a contestant you may wish to draw on themes you have covered in Citizenship, Religious Education, Personal, Social, Health and Economic Education, History, English Literature or the wider curriculum, as well as your own experiences of life in and outside the school.
A first prize of £100 in Amazon vouchers or book tokens will be awarded in each age group, with 3 runner-up prizes of £50. In addition, the winner’s school will be awarded a prize of £200 to spend on resources. The winning essays will be published on the University of Glasgow’s website.
To help you think about some of the key issues, there is also a series of podcasts featuring philosophers of education discussing values, which can be accessed on the project’s webpage: Podcasts
Entries must be submitted by 30th November 2021.
The winner will be announced on the 31st January 2022.
To make the competition as inclusive as possible, entries in alternative formats, such as audio podcasts or video blogs, will be considered.
By participating in the competition, you are consenting for your essay to be included in the Personal Liberty, Mutual Respect and Tolerance: From Values to Virtues research project. Individuals and schools will not be identified in any published research.
Judging Criteria
The essays will be judged by the seven members of the project team, who are education lecturers at the University of Glasgow, Sapienza University of Rome and Liverpool Hope University. The winning entries will be decided based on:
- An engaging writing/presentation style, well written; holds the reader’s attention
- Addresses one or more of the fundamental British values of
- Democracy
- Rule of law
- Personal liberty
- Mutual respect
- Tolerance
- Speaks to the realities of living their own values as a young person in the UK
- Gives an original perspective on the subject matter
To sign up for the competition please contact us via email using the weblink in the sidebar.