The Dukes Education Essay Prize is a competition inspired by the former entrance exam to All Souls College, Oxford. Students are given a selection of one-word prompts, from which they choose one and write an essay with their chosen title. They are free to discuss the title from any subject perspective, which encourages creativity, lateral thinking, and the opportunity to explore a topic beyond the curriculum.

This year, the competition received over 250 submissions from 157 different schools. A panel of experts, including Oxbridge tutors, the heads of the Dukes Education Consultancy, and a member of our Education Advisory Board, read through every submission in an anonymous marking process. It was no easy task to pick the winning essays out of plenty of engaging and creative entries, but after three rounds of marking, we were very pleased to announce the following winners: Davin from Immanuel College, who wrote on ‘Icon’ in Mathematics, Irina from Earlscliffe, who examined ‘Gender’ in Sciences, and Eleanor from Wycombe Abbey School, who explored ‘Energy’ from the perspective of cutting-edge research into algae. Well done to all winners, shortlisted essays, and every participant for taking up this challenging invitation.