fitzwilliam college history essay competition

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Fitzwilliam College Essay Competitions 2024

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This year we will be running essay competitions in Ancient World and Classics, Archaeology, Economics, History, Land Economy, Medieval World and Slavonic Studies. We will additionally be running an Architecture design competition. Further particulars and this year's questions can be found on our Essay Competitions webpage. 

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Essay Competitions for Year 12 Students: A Complete Guide

I must confess that essay competitions were not a thing when I applied to uni. But then when I applied to uni, all that was required was a decent pass in all my A-Levels and a part-time job in McDonalds. The story for today’s teens is not so simple.

Today I’m sharing a guide to independent essay competitions run by colleges and other organisations. This is a chance for students to share work they’ve already done, or create a fresh essay on a topic set by the organisers.

While you’re here, don’t miss our other guides for Year 12 students:

• Complete guide to pre-university summer schools
• Oxford and Cambridge admission tips from an admissions director
• 50+ super curricular activities for Year 12 students

Table of Contents

Why essay competitions are useful

Essay competitions for Year 12 students are a great way to build up your UCAS application. They’re a great example of a super-curricular activity. They show universities that you have a genuine interest in a subject, and expending your learning beyond the classroom.

This is important if you are applying for a competitive course like English or Psychology, or a competitive university like Oxford or Cambridge. We’ve focused on English and humanities here because that’s what my teen is researching. But if you want to study something else, this guide includes relevant essay competitions in other areas for Year 12 including law, philosophy and history.

There are essay competitions in LOADS of subject areas. The below essay competitions for Year 12 (and sometimes other years) could help. Not only by showing your commitment. If you win a prize, then you could mention this in an application. Some essay competition prizes include attendance at a university open day, providing a valuable way to stand out to admissions teams.

Complete Guide to Essay Competitions for English Lit Students

Below you’ll find a list of Year 12 essay writing competitions that are aimed at, or suitable for, English students. Some of these competitions won’t open until later in the academic year. Others are open for entry in 2024 for students applying to university in 2024/25. I’ve indicated a month of closing for each competition. I’ve also provided a brief description of each competition and details of prizes. Click through to find out more.

Girton College Humanities Writing Competition

Girton College, Cambridge, runs an annual competition for humanities essays, which is suitable for students wanting to apply for English at university. It’s also a great opportunity for students of history, geography, economics and other humanities.

The essay prompt is an exhibit from the college’s museum collection, and students are invited to submit an essay inspired by that item. Winners receive prizes of up to £200. It’s worth noting that only three students per school can enter this competition. The submission deadline is MARCH and the prize is £200.

Find out more  

Minds Underground Essay Competitions

This scientific focused from Minds Underground essay competition has a category aimed at ‘senior’ students, which means Year 12. There are actually multiple essay categories covering science, geography, medicine, veterinary science along with history, english and classics.  The submission deadline for all categories is April 3, 2024.

Find out more

Immerse Education Essay Competition

This annual essay competition has an unusual prize – a place at the annual pre-university summer school run by Immerse Education in Oxford, Cambridge or London. It’s a highly competitive competition and the standard of entries is high. The deadline is January each year, further details available online.

Sheffield Philosophy Essay Competition

This competition has small prizes of £50 but worth entering for the kudos. It’s open to students in Years 10, 11 and 12, and invites you to write an essay of 1,500 words on one of five ethical/moral questions like ‘Can animals be moral?’. The competition opens in January and closes in May.

Sheffield History Essay Competition

The University of Sheffield is also running a history essay competition for 2024, which is open until April 26, 2024. To enter the competition, Y12 students must create a 1500 word essay on one of 5 history prompts. Worth noting you can win £100 if you get a prize, but there can only be two entrants from each school or college.

ISA Essay Competition

While some competitions are only open to state school students, the ISA Essay challenge is open only to students attending independent schools that are part of the Independent Schools Association.

The competition is open to students of all ages and entries are judged in various categories, including one for Year 12 and 13 students. The competition opens in February 2024 and closes in May. There’s also an annual poetry competition that might be worth considering for literature students.

Find out more 

New College of Humanities Essay Challenge

NCH London also runs an annual essay competition for Year 12 students, which is open worldwide. The contest includes various categories that may be of interest to future English students. Entry is open to students in Year 12, and the essay prompts will be published on September 5 or thereabouts. Students need to submit a 1,500 word essay by the following January. The overall winner of this competition gets a £1,000 prize. There’s also £500 or £200 for the runners up.

NU London Essay Competition

This competition is not yet open for 2024, but information on the annual essay competition run by the Northeastern University, London can be found online. The competition is open to students in Year 12, and covers technology, social science and humanities topics. Expect questions to be posted in January and the competition usually runs until April.

Fitzwilliam College Essay Competitions (various)

This year, Fitzwilliam college, Cambridge, is running a series of essay competitions in Ancient World and Classics, Archaeology, Economics, History, Land Economy, Medieval World and Slavonic Studies. Entries must be submitted by the end of March 2024. Students must be in year 12 and there is a limit of 5 applications per school per competition. Helpfully, the college is running a couple of webinars in essay writing, to help students make the most of the competition.

The Hugo Young Award

If you’re a budding journalist or activist, the Hugo Young award is run annually by the Guardian newspaper and is open to people aged 16-25. The prize is to create a short piece of journalism on a topic of your choosing.

There is a specific category for 16-18 year olds (if you’re under 18, you’ll need an adult to confirm your entry) and the award is open to anyone from a state school background, although entries from traditionally under-represented groups are especially welcome. You can win £100 in book vouchers, a Guardian subscription and certificate.

The Rex Nettleford Prize

Run by Oriel College, Oxford, this essay competition focuses on the enduring influence of colonialism on our lives. The rules encourage students to engage with the legacies of colonialism in all its forms – historical, political, economic, social, cultural. Entry is via a 2,500 word essay, and is open to students in Year 12. The prize is £250, and your entry needs to be submitted by 15 March, 2024.

Magdalene College Essay Competition 2024

This competition has not yet opened for 2024, but you can register for more information and to get an alert when entries open. Traditionally, the competition is open to arts and humanities students in Year 12, and is open to students currently in state school education.

Newnham College Essay Competitions

The Newnham competition has been in the news recently because it has changed its rules so that students from independent schools may NOT enter their essay competition. Newnham is a Cambridge college, and as such, they’re trying to distance themselves from the idea that they favour students from privileged backgrounds. Fair enough.

The Newnham competition offers a number of essay prizes, that are open to female students in Year 12. The college provides webinars and guides outlining how to submit and create your essay. Entries are submitted each March, and there is a maximum of four entries permitted in each subject, per school. Details of the Woolf essay, which opens each summer, can be found online.

LSE Undergraduate Political Review

This competition has not yet been opened for 2024 but you can see the format of the competition for 2023 and the winning entries on the LSE UPR website.

This competition invites students in Year 12 to write an 1,000 word essay on a political prompt. The prize includes a £100 Amazon voucher, a certificate signed by the head of LSE’s government department and a chance to present at the annual LSEUPR conference.

Trust for Sustainable Living Essay Prize

This competition is open to school students of all ages but the secondary category is for students aged 11-18 and only requires a 600-word essay on a topic around sustainability.The brief for 2024 – “How can nature help us achieve the UN SDGs in my community?” You will need to have your entry submitted by a teacher or other adult aged 18+.

The Peter Cane Legal Reasoning Prize

If you’re an aspiring lawyer in Year 12 or Year 13, this competition by Corpus Christi College, Oxford. The competition opens in January and closes in February. Winning entrants will be invited to a debate at the college later in the year. This year’s essay prompt is a hypothetical legal case and students are invited to submit an essay outlining their view of the case and reasons why they take the position they do.

The Libra Essay Prize

The Libra competition is for students in Y11 and Y12 preparing for university – it opens each year in January and closes in April 2024. There are actually essay questions across eight categories including science, English, history, economics and more. Essays can be up to 2,000 words and winners will receive vouchers of up to £50 for each category.

Royal Institute of Philosophy Essay Competition

If you reckon you could write 1,200 words on the theme ‘Can Machines Think’ then you might be up for the first ever Royal Institute of Philosophy Think! essay competition. There aren’t any monetary prizes but the winners’ entries will be published by the Institute and that’s got to be worth mentioning on your university application!

The St Johns College Classics and Ancient History Prize

This annual competition is now open and closes in March 2024. There are questions for students of classics and history, including classical literature. To enter, students must submit a 2,000 word essay on one of five questions, and could win a £100 book voucher as a prize. In addition, everyone who submits an essay is invited to the college for an open day, including tours and workshops.

Oxford IQ Essay Competition

Similar to the Immerse Education essay competition, the Oxford IQ essay competition gives students the chance to win a free place on a summer pre-university programme in Oxford. Essays are judged on a rolling basis, but must be submitted by March 2024. Entering is something of a process. You need to first register interest in the summer programme including writing a statement on why you want to attend the session, and you’ll receive details of the competition and the essay questions within 48 hours. You can then start your entry, and you’ll be informed within a week of submission if you have been successful.

The Mary Renault Prize

St Hughes College Oxford runs two essay competitions each year. The first focuses on history , the second on classics. The classics essay is worth considering if you’re aiming for an English degree. The competition welcomes entries from students not currently studying Latin/Greek at A-Level, and your essay can focus on classical literature. There are 2 prizes available, worth up to £500. Entries must be 2,000-2,400 words and submitted by late July. Winners are also invited to visit the college for tea!

Queens College Year 12 Essay Contest

Queens College Cambridge runs an annual English essay competition for Year 12 students, demanding a 2500 word essay for a change to win a £500 prize! Entries close in March and the winner is announced in May. In addition to the cash prize, the winner is invited to the college open day and several previous winners went on to study at Cambridge.

The John Locke Institute International Essay Competition

While not strictly aimed at English students, this global contest is very well known and the breadth of topics means you can take a literary approach to another discipline. Students can submit essays across seven different subjects. They are Philosophy, Politics, Economics, History, Psychology, Theology and Law. There are three questions set for each topic, and you can choose your favourite. Entries close in June each year.

The Betty Haigh Prize

Many sixth form students of literature will study Shakespeare and this essay competition is the perfect place to showcase your best work.

To enter the competition, students need to write a 1500 word essay that compares a scene in a Shakespeare tragedy to a film or TV adaptation, OR write a standalone essay exploring how a TV or film adaptation of a Shakespeare drama has thrown new light on the original text. Entries close in September 2024, and winners generally receive book vouchers as prizes.

Gould Prize for English Literature

One of the best essay competitions for english students is the Gould Prize, which is awarded annually by Trinity College, Cambridge.

Candidates are invited each year to submit an essay of between 1,500 and 2,500 words on a topic to be chosen from the list of questions. Entries must be submitted by August 1, with a first prize of £600 to be split between the student and their school or college. Each year there are six questions to choose from, covering novels, poetry and drama.

Robinson College Essay Prize

You don’t enter the Robinson College essay competition because of the prizes – you’ll get a £50 book token if you win. But you’ll get lots of kudos AND an invite to a celebratory award lunch at the college, where you can meet the dean. Similar to the Gould prize, the Robinson College prize poses a series of challenging questions and invites students to answer them from their own perspective. Questions are carefully selected so they’re applicable to literature but also philosophy, history, law and science. This particular competition will not run in 2024.

There you have it! 26 of the best essay competitions for Year 12 students, that you can apply for in 2022. Missed something from our guide? Let me know in the comments!

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Fitzwilliam College Essay Competition

Competition Overview

Students who are in grade 11, march 1, 2024 at 6pm, competition details.

1. Eligibility This competition is open for students in their penultimate year of education, including Year 12 in England and Wales, S5 in Scotland, and Year 13 in Northern Ireland (which is Grade 11 in the United States educational system). Students from any country can participate, but submissions are written in English.

2. Competition Categories Ancient World and Classics, Archaeology, Economics, History, Land Economy, Medieval World and Slavonic Studies.

3. Writing Webinars The competition also hosts two essay writing webinars to guide students throughout the competition: 

• Webinar 1 – Initial Preparation – 12th January 2024 at 6 pm
• Webinar 2 – Finalising your Essay – 16th February 2024 at 2pm
• Student Awards

Submission Details

Submission Deadline: March 1, 2024

1. Word Limit 2500 words for Archaeology, Classics & Ancient World, History, Land Economy, Slavonic Studies, and Medieval World; 1500 words for Economics; 500 words for the Architecture narrative.

2. Submission Guidelines Submissions should strictly adhere to the word limit set out in the subject brief above and contain a bibliography at the end. The word count excludes the bibliography but includes any footnotes. Each page should be numbered and contain the applicant’s full name.

3. Submission Limit Students are allowed to enter one competition and may only submit one entry to that competition. 

1. Ancient World and Classics

• What qualities made heroes heroic in ancient literature? Discuss with reference to any text or texts of your choice.
• How can the study of dead languages help us to understand ancient societies? Answer with reference to any period and region of your choice.
• “Imagery is the most important source for studying women in the ancient world.” Do you agree? Discuss with reference to any period and region of your choice.
• “The study of art and/or archaeology reveals people the texts ignore.” Discuss with reference to any people, period and region of your choice.
• What led to either a) the development of Athenian democracy or b) the fall of the Roman Late Republic?
• “Ancient philosophy is not relevant to modern political or ethical debates.” Do you agree? Discuss with reference to any text or texts and any political and/or ethical debates of your choice.

2. Archaeology

• To what extent can the archaeology of the environment prepare us for the era of ‘global boiling’?
• ‘Archaeology only deals with interpretations, never facts’. Discuss.
• To what degree is modern fiction and poetry more effective than archaeology in telling stories about the past?

3. Economics

• “The main claim of microeconomic theory is that markets are beneficial institutions.” Discuss.
• High and stable economic growth, as measured by an annual percentage change in real Gross Domestic Product (GDP), has long been targeted as a primary objective of governments’ economic policies across the globe. Is GDP growth an adequate measure of a country’s prosperity, a nation’s well-being and an appropriate policy objective? Discuss

Fitzwilliam College traces its origins to 1869, when the University of Cambridge launched an initiative to facilitate access to Higher Education for the many students who could not afford the costs of college membership. The initiative was part of the broader transformation of education in Britain, as the changes wrought by industrialisation and urbanisation created a need to cater for a growing, increasingly diverse and literate population. Earlier decades had already witnessed the establishment of King’s College London, Durham University, and the University of London, for instance, and colleges for women were beginning to open in Cambridge and Oxford. These radical social and economic changes were themselves connected to the intensification of globalisation in the second half of the nineteenth century, which placed Britain at the heart of an ever-tighter web of economic relations between the world’s continents. 

But the same year also witnessed the birth of Mohandas – later Mahatma – Gandhi, who would come to challenge Britain’s colonial rule and lead India on the path to independence; the death of Alphonse de Lamartine, the poet and politician who had proudly proclaimed France’s Second Republic in 1848, but whose final years were lived under the more authoritarian Second Empire; the marriage of Emperor Meiji, which consolidated Japan’s monarchy as the country began a new process of industrialisation; and the establishment by Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton of the National Woman Suffrage Association in a United States still recovering from the Civil War. 

In 1869, as throughout history, old and new worlds collided. We invite applicants to examine, in their essays, a topic of their choice, connected to the changes taking place in or around the year 1869. Essays may focus on a particular event, a person, a political movement, or even a process of social, economic or cultural change, but they should consider the interaction of ‘old’ and ‘new’ forces which the chosen topic illuminates. 

5. Land Economy

• When it comes to decarbonizing the economy, “it’s not terribly difficult to know what needs to be done, though it is of course immensely difficult to get the relevant actors (government and others) to do it” (Barry, 1999). Discuss this statement, preferably drawing on evidence from the UK.
• The current Conservative government led by Rishi Sunak has unexpectedly decided to scrap part of the HS2 project. Irrespective of your overall political views towards the current government, do you think this was a sound decision from an economic point of view?
• Some claim that modern communication platforms, such as Zoom, and the work-from-home revolution will lead to a decline of inner cities. Do you agree?

6. Rosemary Horrox Medieval World

• “A World lit only by fire” – is this a fair characterisation of the thousand years of history between AD 500 and AD 1500?
• Is European Medieval history a study of white men?
• Are peasants more interesting than kings (answer with reference to the history of any part of the world in the middle ages)?
• Was High Medieval Europe (c.1100-1300) essentially going through the same experience as Kamakura period Japan (1185-1333)?
• Did the Hundred Years’ War create England and France as nation-states?
• To what extent was English imperialism the main cause of political change in medieval Britain and Ireland?

7. Slavonic studies

• Select any single work of Polish, Russian or Ukrainian literature or visual art (a film, a painting, an architectural drawing, or a poster) and discuss the ways in which it reflects some of the principal political and social issues of its age. 2. ‘Images of the past are central to concepts of contemporary national identity.’ Discuss with respect to either Polish, Ukrainian or Russian culture. You may focus on one work of contemporary literature or art from one of the three countries, or you may examine the rhetoric of contemporary politicians from one or more of the three counties. 3. ‘The history of every nation is constantly being rewritten to suit the needs of the present.’ Discuss with respect to either Poland, Ukraine or Russia. 4. Select a Polish, Russian or Ukrainian writer, artist or filmmaker and discuss the relevance of their work for the present. Be sure to support your discussion by offering a detailed analysis of one work. 5. ‘The current Russian waged war on Ukraine is a war of identity.’ Discuss.

8. Architecture Design

You are challenged to design a new building somewhere on the Fitzwilliam College site. This building will serve as a hub for interaction between teaching staff and students, where they can share and explore ideas. During the design process, you will need to think about what programmes or activities need to be accommodated in the new building. For instance, you can consider including spaces for social interaction such as a new cafe, as well as spaces to have quieter conversations in groups of different sizes. You must also consider possible locations for the new building within the College site, taking into consideration the other College buildings in your design, as well as the landscaped areas preserving mature trees as much as possible. This should be seen as an opportunity to create an interesting relationship between the interior and exterior spaces.

Submission Details: 

• Project Title that best describes your design intention and final design solution
• Design Narrative of 500 words that concisely explains your design inspiration, design objective, and final design strategy developed to meet your design objective
• Drawings that show the following: 1) floor plan(s) of your building at 1:200 scale 2) one elevation and one section of the building that best describes main features of the design solution 3) one site plan that indicates the location of the building in relation to existing buildings in the college site. A detailed site plan showing the ground floor plans of the individual buildings is available on the essay competition website for reference, but you should produce a new drawing for the competition submission. 4) one perspective drawing of your building that highlights your design intention and shows the placement of a new building in relation to existing college buildings nearby

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Fitzwilliam College Year 12 Essay Competitions

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Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge, is delighted to announce its 2022 essay competitions, aimed at providing students in their penultimate year of education (Year 12 in England and Wales, S5 in Scotland, Year 13 in Northern Ireland) with an opportunity to engage with their interests beyond the classroom.

This year there will be competitions in Ancient World & Classics, Archaeology, History, Land Economy, and Medieval World, with a range of questions in each category.

The prize fund (per competition) is £300 with a first prize of £200 and highly commended applicants being awarded a £25 book voucher, awarded at a prize-giving ceremony in the Summer.

The deadline for all competitions is 6pm on Tuesday 1st March 2022, and there is a word limit of 2,500 words .

Further information and questions for each category can be found on the website:  https://www.fitz.cam.ac.uk/admissions/undergraduate-admissions/opportunities-prospective-applicants/essay-competitions.

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Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge: Ancient World and Classics Essay Competition 2024

• March 1, 2024 6:00 pm
• Categories: Competition , Schools , Student , Teachers

This essay competition is for students in their penultimate year of education – Year 12 (Eng + Wales), S5 (Scotland), Y13 (NI) or equivalent overseas. International applicants are welcome but the essay must be written in English.

See here for further details and how to enter.

Deadline for entries: 1 March 2024

Tell us why and you could win a fantastic prize in our Free Prize Draw!

Signed books, free tickets, vouchers, visits all to be won!

Win a prize now

Cambridge Essay Competitions

Essay competitions are brilliant for a number of reasons!

You can use them to:

The essay competitions usually become open for submissions after the winter holidays. Be sure to check any eligibility criteria, requirements and deadlines. This page will be updated when new competitions are announced, and when deadlines are passed, so check back regularly! All essay competitions and events at Cambridge (both online and in-person) can be found here 🔗 🌟.

Magdalene College Arts and Humanities Essay Competition 2024 🔗 🌟 Any student in their penultimate year at a state school can enter this competition, which will open in early 2024. Last year, there were 12 questions covering a variety of topics within the arms and humanities - you can read the winning entries here 🔗. To register your interest in this competition for 2024, fill in this form 🔗.

Fitzwilliam College Essay Competitions: various subjects 🔗 🌟 Fitzwilliam College runs a variety of competitions in Ancient World and Classics, Archaeology, History, Land Economy, Medieval World, Architecture, and Economics (this last one is for state-school UK students only). All competitions are open to Year 12 students and are designed to encourage students to pursue their interests in subjects they might not be able to study in depth at school. Last year, the deadline for all competition entries was the 1st of March, so make sure to check back in early 2024 for updates.

Newnham College Woolf Essay Prize 🔗 🌟 The Woolf Essay Competition is focussed on women in literature, history, society and culture. There are also competitions for other subjects - more information these will be coming soon. Webinars to help support your entry can be found here 🔗 . The deadline for the Woolf Prize last year was the 14th of July.

Girton College Humanities Writing Competition 🔗 An opportunity for students interested in pursuing any humanities subject to write creatively! Year 12 students may enter with an essay or piece of creative writing using an object from Girton College’s small antiquities museum, the Lawrence Room, as their prompt.

Robinson College Essay Prize: various subjects 🔗 Year 12 students may submit an essay of up to 2,000 words in response to one of the set questions, which cover a wide variety of academic subjects. The prize did not run in 2023, but may in 2024.

Trinity College Essay Prizes 🔗 These competitions give entrants the opportunity to write an essay of up to 2,000 words in response to the set question/(s). Last year there were competitions for English Literature, Launguages, Linguistics, Philosophy, Politics, Law, and History.

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