We are sorry to announce that the Gwyneth Bebb Law Essay Competition will unfortunately not go ahead in 2025.
However, candidates are encouraged to consider whether their areas of interest may overlap with one of our other essay competitions, which may certainly be approached from a legal perspective.
The Gwyneth Bebb Competition 2024
Please note that these details refer to last year’s competition, which is now closed!
The Principal and Fellows of St Hugh’s College are pleased to offer a prize of up to £500 for the best essay written in response to a set question. For the 2024 competition, this question was as follows:
Defend one of the following two propositions:
- The deployment of juries as part of this country’s criminal trial procedure should be abolished.
- There is no particular reason for our judiciary to be representative of this country’s population.
No detailed knowledge of English law is required to answer it; indeed, while cases reported in the national media may be referred to, entrants should not look to cite any specific case law or statutes in their work. Rather, they are encouraged to think about things a matter of principle. The judges will be looking out for an entrant’s ability to reason from wider precepts and to construct clear and coherent arguments.
Entry is restricted to pupils who, at the closing date, have been in the Sixth Form of any state-funded school or college for a period of not more than two years.
2024 Gwyneth Bebb Prize Winners
Winner
Nick Warrier – Westcliff High School for Boys, Southend-on-Sea (Year 12)
The deployment of juries as part of this country’s criminal trial procedure should be abolished
Second Place
Deetya Prabhu – Wallington High School for Girls, Wallington (Year 12)
The deployment of juries as part of this country’s criminal trial procedure should be abolished
William Smith – St Ambrose College, Altrincham (Year 12)
The deployment of juries as part of this country’s criminal trial procedure should be abolished
