International essay competition success

A 15-year-old student from Horsham won first prize in the 2015 English Benedictine Congregation (EBC) Schools’ Essay Competition, open to schools in the UK, USA and Ireland, and was invited to an awards ceremony at Ampleforth Abbey in Yorkshire this week to collect her prize.
Olivia Wilson. Picture by Emma Duggan Photography SUS-150624-103729001Olivia Wilson. Picture by Emma Duggan Photography SUS-150624-103729001
Olivia Wilson. Picture by Emma Duggan Photography SUS-150624-103729001

However, winner Olivia Wilson who attends Worth School in Turners Hill already had another commitment – a Duke of Edinburgh’s Award expedition to Dartmoor.

Olivia’s winning essay was a 1500-word piece about which Benedictine values she would describe as being at the centre of her school life if she were making a film.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

The Rule of St Benedict was written over 1500 years ago, originally as a guide for monastic living, but today it is seen as relevant for all sorts of communities, including schools. The values Olivia highlighted as making up “the very essence of life at Worth” were the coming together as a community, being concerned for the good of others, teamwork, persistence and nurturing all talents and abilities, not just academic ones. Values, it could be argued, which are highly relevant for the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award.

Asked if she had any regrets about missing the prize-giving in Yorkshire, Olivia said: “Of course I would have liked to go, but I’d already made my commitment to the Silver DofE expedition. And I think it is a commitment that I needed to honour.”

Report contributed by Worth School. Picture by Emma Duggan Photography.

Related topics: