Theology Essay Excellence
Two Ampleforth students have achieved national recognition for essay writing in esteemed national competitions.
Chloe (13M) entered the John Locke Institute’s Global Essay Prize, a prestigious competition in which students from over 150 countries develop their writing and critical thinking skills exploring challenging questions that go far beyond the school curriculum. The competition is judged by a panel of senior academics from leading universities including Oxford and Princeton. Essays can be submitted in seven categories: Philosophy, Politics, Economics, History, Psychology, Theology, and Law. Chloe submitted her Essay in the Philosophy category, exploring the question “Is atheism implausible?”. She was nominated as a finalist and attended the glittering awards dinner in Mayfair, London on 4 October. As a result of her essay, Chloe has been awarded a scholarship to a John Locke summer school.
Arabella (10M) also took on the challenge of exploring a Philosophical question through essay writing, entering her essay into the Catholic Young Writers Award 2025. Entrants were asked to “imagine that a friend has said to them that Jesus was a great man, and wonderful moral teacher, but that they did not accept that he was God. They are encouraged to write an essay in response drawing on the Scriptures and showing evidence of having studied the Catechism of the Catholic Church and some Papal teachings”.
Arabella won second prize for her entry and will attend the Annual Meeting of the Catholic Union in Farm Street, London later this year to celebrate her success and hear from Baroness Hollins. Baroness Hollins is an eminent speaker and writer about learning disabilities and a crossbench life peer.
It is fantastic to see our students taking on challenges, pondering important and complex philosophical questions, and seeking feedback and guidance from their teachers. Both of these essay writing awards attract hundreds of entries from across the country, making these achievements especially impressive.
We congratulate Chloe and Arabella on their hard work and the well-deserved recognition of their achievements. Well done!
If you would like to read Chloe's essay, you can find it below.
