A Cadbury student’s exceptional academic thinking and passion for ancient religions has paid off with international competition success.
Orion Harding, currently studying Ancient History, Applied Psychology and Sociology at Cadbury Sixth Form College, has been shortlisted for the John Locke Institute Global Essay Prize.
Orion was inspired to enter their impressive essay entitled ‘Why Do We Pray?’ under the Theology category after a recommendation from their tutor, and researching ancient religions and major ancient Greek epics by Homer.
Competition essays are shortlisted for the grand prize for inspiring reflection, questioning assumptions, and showcasing remarkable intellectual depth.
Orion said they never dreamed of reaching the final stage of the competition that attracts tens of thousands of entries worldwide, and is judged by a panel of senior academics drawn from leading universities including Oxford and Princeton.
Orion says: “I honestly wasn’t expecting it to go anywhere. I sent it off and I was so stressed about the result as I take a lot of pride in my writing. I’m really proud of this. It’s a really prestigious competition.
“Theology is a passion of mine that I don’t get to indulge in very often. I want to go on to do a PhD in it at Durham University, so I already had a lot of the things I needed in my head. I was used to telling the stories to my younger siblings as bedtime stories, so I’m used to making it more sanitised or digestible.”
“I would love to be published in an academic journal. Research keeps me up to date with what’s going on in the world and challenge myself enough to write an essay on it.”
The John Locke Institute Essay Competition encourages young people to cultivate the characteristics that turn good students into great writers: independent thought, depth of knowledge, clear reasoning, critical analysis and persuasive style.
Avid learners are invited to explore a wide range of challenging and interesting questions beyond the confines of the curriculum, building their knowledge and refining their skills of argumentation.
Favourites are chosen from each of seven subject categories – Philosophy, Politics, Economics, History, Psychology, Theology and Law, and the Grand Prize winner is then selected.
