2019 Northeastern University London Essay Competition Awards
On 25th June 2019, we celebrated the outstanding academic work of students who were shortlisted for the third Northeastern University London Essay Competition with our Essay Awards.
Hosted by Professor A C Grayling, Master of the University, the essay competition awards ceremony was held in Bedford Square Gardens, Bloomsbury, across from the University building at 19 Bedford Square. During the event, essay writers and their guests enjoyed canapés with non-alcoholic sparkling wine and had their pictures taken by our paparazzi.
From over 3,600 entries from the UK and EU, 150 essays were shortlisted and we were delighted to welcome these shortlisted students to collect their awards, ranging from £20 gift vouchers to top prizes of £1,000.
The competition sought submissions of essays in a range of questions based on our the disciplines we offer as ‘Majors’. The questions were as follows:
Art History: ‘Oscar Wilde claimed that ‘All art is quite useless’. Can art’s uselessness be a source of it usefulness?’
Economics: ‘Nudges have been successfully used by governments around the world to influence people’s behaviours (Thaler 2008), but will we become immune to such ‘tricks’?’
English: ‘What are literary critics for?’
History: ‘Can history teach us lessons?’
Law: ‘Was the EU Commission correct to fine Google for abuse of a strong market position in online markets?’
Philosophy: ‘What kinds of inequality, if any, are unjust?’
Politics & International Relations: ‘What measures can be taken to increase voter turn-out at elections?’
Prize winners
Art History
First prize (£1,000): Callum Stark, James Gillespie’s High School. Read Callum’s essay here.
First runner up (£500): Anna Davis, Northgate High School
Second runner up (£250): Darragh Murray, Wimbledon College
Highly commended (£40 gift voucher): Safiya Ali, Tolworth Girls School and Josephine Burdin, Gosforth Academy
Economics
First prize: Emerson Murphy, City of London School. Read Emerson’s essay here.
First runner up: Jing Hui Tan, Sevenoaks School
Second runner up: Valeriya Aynullina, King Edward VI Five Ways School
Highly commended: Rohan Gupta, Hymers College and Leon Zhang, King Edward VI Camp Hill School for Boys
English
First prize: Claire Laurence, Wimbledon High School. Read Claire’s essay here.
First runner up: Anna Davidson, Trinity Academy, Edinburgh
Second runner up: Riyaad Ali, Wallington County Grammar
Highly commended: Ollie Thomlinson-Wells, Dr Challoner’s High School and Anna Ivaskevica, Thomas Clarkson Academy
History
First prize: Dowon Jung, Eton College. Read Dowon’s essay here.
First runner up: Molly Wellspring, Brixham College
Second runner up: Gabriel Lane, Wallington County Grammar School
Highly commended: Elle Fang, The Grammar School at Leeds and Celine Habbal, GEMS Wellington International School
Law
First prize: Elizabeth Lu, Wycombe Abbey School. Read Elizabeth’s essay here.
First runner up: Thomas Clapp, Sutton Grammar School
Second runner up: Millie Rudge, Sir Roger Manwood’s School and Kimberly Shaw, Brentwood School
Highly commended: Ai Ling Woolston, Hills Road Sixth Form College
Philosophy
First prize: Ashleigh McHenry, Stanground Academy. Read Ashleigh’s essay here.
First runner up: Amanda Milligan, The Maynard School
Second runner up: Aryan Jagtap, Bavarian International School and Joanne Beverley, Elliott Hudson College
Highly commended: Emily Hurst, Edgbaston High School
Politics & IR
First prize: Mia Connors, The Royal Masonic School for Girls. Read Mia’s essay here.
First runner up: Harvey Dryer, Poole Grammar School
Second runner up: Safa Al-Azami, Altrincham Grammar School for Girls
Highly commended: Sofia Mleinik, Cardiff Sixth Form College and Lana Slade, Denmark Road High School
Additional prizes, including £20 gift vouchers, were awarded to the remaining shortlisted candidates due to the overwhelming quality of the essays received.
We would like to thank the staff at all of the schools who supported the essay competition and encouraged their students to participate.