Oxford Essay Prize

Upper Sixth student Emily has been highly commended in a prestigious essay competition run by St Hugh’s College, Oxford.

Congratulations to Emily on her essay, which focused on the influence of the Roman Empire on the trope of galactic empires in science fiction – an arresting topic that clearly captured the attention of the judges!

The Mary Renault Prize is a Classical Reception essay prize for Sixth Form pupils, awarded by St Hugh’s College and funded by the royalties from Mary Renault’s novels. The prizes are in memory of the author, who is best known for her historical novels set in ancient Greece. Renault read English at St Hugh’s in the 1920s and subsequently taught herself ancient Greek. Her novels have inspired many thousands of readers to pursue the study of Classics at University level and beyond.

Emily is an Academic Scholar, studying Latin, Classical Greek, History, Mathematics and Further Mathematics, and plans to read Classics at university.