Test your academic skills with the OxBright Essay Competition. Designed for bright 15-18 year olds, the competition will challenge you to go beyond the school curriculum and think about the future of your subject.
Think big, stretch yourself – and stand out from the crowd when the time comes to apply to university.
At OxBright, we’re passionate about giving you the edge to succeed, find your purpose and make a difference in the world.
We’re optimistic about the opportunities that lie ahead and about the potential of young people to make the most of them (read more about our Worldview).
The OxBright Essay Competition gives you the chance to think about the future, challenge yourself beyond the school curriculum, and consider your subject through a wider lens.
All shortlisted entrants will be invited to attend one of our Online Conferences free of charge, and there are a variety of prestigious prizes for the winners.
We look forward to reading your submission!
Aim and Benefits
Over £100,000 Worth of Academic Prizes
Free Conference place
The first thousand students who are successfully shortlisted will be awarded a free place at one of our OxBright Conferences (worth £95) in the autumn.
Alternatively, you can put this credit towards an Online Course or Online Internship.
Awards Ceremony
All shortlisted entrants and their parents and teachers will be invited to attend our online Awards Ceremony in April 2024, where the winners will be announ
Award Winners
Awards include:
- Most Outstanding Essay (prize: a place on our sister organisation, the Oxford Scholastica Academy’s residential Oxford Summer School in 2025, worth £6,995)
- Best Essay for each subject category (prize: a place on an OxBright Online Course or Online Internship, worth £995)
- Highly Commended (for the the top 20% of entries, who will receive a Certificate of Achievement)
Requirements
Anyone can enter – the only eligibility criteria is that you must be aged between 15-18. You don’t need to have previously joined an OxBright programme in order to take part.
Kindly be aware that to be eligible to take up any of the free places offered as prizes, such as our online courses/internships, winning students must be between the ages of 15 and 18 at the commencement of the programme.
we only accept one essay per student in each Essay Competition. This is due to the volume of essays we receive.
Essay Question 2024
“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world.”
How does collaboration in [your subject] support social impact and innovation? Discuss how working together is essential when addressing global challenges and creating meaningful change.
Subjects:
- Architecture
- Biology
- Business
- Computer Science & Coding
- Writing & Journalism
- Economics
- Engineering
- History
- Law
- Mathematics
- Medicine
- Philosophy
- Politics
- Psychology
There are three parts to the essay:
- Essay title: the title of your essay can be up to 100 characters long, including spaces
- Essay: your essay can have up to 3,800 characters, including spaces (this is about 500 words). This includes everything you write, like the main text and in-text citations. In-text citations are little notes you put in your essay to show where your information came from. For example, if you quote something from a book by John Smith, you would add (Smith, 2010, p. 50) right after the quote. These citations are part of your word count, so make sure to include them
- References: as for references, there’s no word limit – you can include as many as you need! These are important for showing where your information came from. Please use the Harvard Referencing Style for your references (you can find how to do this in the guidelines provided here). This won’t count towards your essay character limit, so please list all the sources you used
Interview date, Process and Venue
How Our Essay Competition Works
Submit Your Entry:
Research and write your essay and then submit it, along with your references, via our short form below.
Entries close at 9pm UK time on 31st March 2024!
Next Steps
We’ll be in touch within two weeks of your entry to let you know whether you’ve been shortlisted. The first 1,000 shortlisted entrants are invited to attend one of our Conferences, free of charge.
Awards Ceremony:
All shortlisted entrants and their parents and teachers will be invited to attend our Awards Ceremony in April 2024, where the winners will be announced.
Application Deadline
March 31, 2024
How to Apply
Interested and qualified? Go to OxBright on www.oxbright.org to apply
For more details visit: OxBright website.
