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Julia Wood Prize Winner

7th September 2018

Mark Connolly (SVI) has been named as one of four winners of the Julia Wood Prize, an annual History essay competition run by St Hugh’s College, Oxford.

Mark’s winning entry was entitled ‘Socialism or death? An Assessment of the Socio-economic Successes and Failures of the Cuban Revolution, 1958-1975.’ Congratulations to Mark on a wonderful achievement.

This is the 2nd consecutive year a St Columba’s pupil has won this prestigious competition, FP Jessica Curry was a joint winner in 2017.

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Success in Oxbridge essay competitions

Congratulations to our year 13 pupils who have been successful in various History essay competitions held by Cambridge and Oxford University.

Teddy E, James G & Zach F were all commended for essays submitted in the St Hugh’s College (Oxford) Julia Wood History Prize.

Cameron J was commended for an essay submitted for the Fitzwilliam College (Cambridge) Archaeology Prize & Charlie B was commended for an essay for the Trinity College (Cambridge) Robson Prize. Junayd S also got a highly commended for his essay for the Trinity College (Cambridge) Robson Prize essay.

Teddy spoke about the topic which interested him for the competition: “I wrote an essay regarding ‘to what extent was the Japanese invasion of China responsible for communist victory in the Chinese civil war’ which was very thought-provoking”.

Cameron commented: “My essay focused on the title ‘In what ways does the study of archaeology remain political’. I could use a lot of material I’d been given in Archaeology university challenge sessions with Mr Hern as sources for my essay which helped a lot in the planning stages, and he helped me a lot by giving me advice and criticisms on my essay before I submitted it for the competition. I’m hoping this achievement will help my application to Durham to do History and French”.

James G spoke about his experiences: “The research took about a week and a half, and the writing took two days. My essay was on the creation of a Greek national identity, specifically how this came to happen. It took theories of nationalism from 'Imagined Communities' (Anderson) and 'Sapiens' (Harari) and applied it to the Greek example, which used 'The Greeks' (Beaton) and various other primary and secondary sources”.

He added: “For anyone else doing it I would recommend thinking of a subject area and doing your research with a broad aim in mind, but as you set your own question with the Julia Wood essay prize, don't feel restricted to it. I changed my own title 2 days before the deadline to suit better what I had written. Don't feel limited by your own title”.

Well done to everyone from all at MGS!

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Oxford Essay Competition Success

U6th former wins two Oxford prizes

Earlier this summer, I was awarded prizes in two essay competitions run by St Hugh’s College, Oxford. In my entry to the Julia Wood History Competition (for which I was awarded Fourth Prize), I investigated how the Supreme Court’s undisturbed memory of Reconstruction impacted their rulings. I discovered that this retreat from Reconstruction, which led to the gradual erosion of the Fourteenth Amendment, was facilitated by Claude Bowers’The Tragic Era, a finding which encouraged me to reflect on both the impact flawed histories can have on the present and the nature of judicial decision making in general.

My entry to the Mary Renault Classical Reception Competition (which was ‘highly commended’) concerned the reception of Tacitus’s Germania, an ancient text firstly misinterpreted and misappropriated by fifteenth century Italian and German humanists. The debate that ensued between the two nations regarding their relative superiority arguably fostered the concept of multipolarity among nations, consequently giving rise to nationalism itself. Indeed, the Germania was used by German nationalists to reaffirm and strengthen their national character. Beyond nationalism, at the dawn of the Third Reich, Tacitus’s reference to the purity of the Ancient German people justified antisemitism, giving rise to its reputation as “a most dangerous book”.

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The Prize Essay

George Garnett reflects on the Julia Wood Prize and on the state of sixth-form history.

In 1994 the history tutors at St Hugh’s College, Oxford, decided to reallocate a prize formerly awarded to a second-year undergraduate historian. We thought that offering a prize of several hundred pounds for an essay written by a sixth-former would encourage a large number of entries. We also thought that it would give us a very good idea of what was going on in sixth-form history in a wide range of schools. By persuading History Review to publish the winning essay, considerable kudos was added to monetary reward: very few historians secure an audience of this size before they have even taken their A levels, IB or equivalent. And the wide readership of the Review would gain an idea of what the best sixth-form historians are capable.

On all counts we were right. We have had an average of over 100 entries a year, for 17 years. That is an awful lot of history essays, all of them 3000-4000 words long. The candidates are to a considerable degree self-selecting, so we gain an insight into what the best historians are doing in schools.

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Latest News

Home → 2020 Julia Wood and Mary Renault essay competitions now open

2020 Julia Wood and Mary Renault essay competitions now open

St Hugh’s is very pleased to announce that both the Julia Wood and Mary Renault 2020 essay competitions are now open for submissions.

The deadline for both essay competitions is 5pm on Friday 24th July 2020.

Established in 1971, in memory of a St Hugh’s College historian, the Julia Wood Prize is an annual History essay competition open to Sixth Form pupils who have not been in the sixth form of any school or college for a period of more than two years.

The Prize, worth up to £500, is offered by the Principal and Fellows of St Hugh’s College for the best historical essay submitted by the closing date.  You can submit an entry and find more information about the Julia Wood prize here.

The Mary Renault Prize is a Classical Reception essay prize for school or college sixth form pupils, awarded by the Principal and Fellows of St Hugh’s College, and generously funded by the royalties from Mary Renault’s novels.

Submissions for the Mary Renault Prize can be from any discipline but must be on a topic relating to the reception of classical antiquity – including Greek and Roman literature, history, political thought, philosophy, and material remains – in any period to the present; essays on reception within classical antiquity (for instance, receptions of literary or artistic works or of mythical or historical figures) are permitted. Two or more prizes of £300 may be awarded, and at least one prize is reserved for a pupil who is not studying either Latin or Greek to A-level standard. More information about the Mary Renault Prize can be found here.

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