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Competitions & Prizes

This page will have details of currently available competitions & prizes for school students. Send entries to the addresses given below.

Jowett Minimus Mythology Competition

Details for Competitors:

Choose the appropriate level as outlined below according to the book you are using regardless of your pupils’ ages

Minimus 1 = The Cyclops
Minimus 2 = Demeter and Persephone

Choose your category from the three below.

Art eg drawing, collage, painting, mosaic
Creative Writing eg poem, retelling story in 1st person, playwriting
Drama – to be submitted (in Latin) on video/DVD with written script

A maximum of 10 entries, at each level may be submitted by each school/club. Hold an internal competition, if desired, in order to select your best entries. Each entry in categories 1 and 2 should be the work of only one pupil.
Entries should be digitally photographed and sent ONLY by E-MAIL to the organiser Pam Macklin at pam@nethaus.co.uk who will forward them to the judges.

EVERY entry should be accompanied by the Pupil’s Name and Age and the Name and Address of School together with a short description of the materials used (for art work).

Include a completed copy of the entry form

Entries must be received by 23-05-08

Winners to be notified by 1st July 2008
The winning entries will be displayed on the website www.minimus.com

Prizes will be awarded to individual entrants and an additional prize will go to the school, which in the judges’ opinion submitted the best set of entries.

Gladstone Prize 2008

£200 and £100 Gladstone Essay Prizes to be won!

Through the generosity of the Gladstone Memorial Trust, Omnibus is once again able to offer prizes for excellent essays on classical themes. The competition is open to anyone under 19 and still in full-time education who has not yet taken A-levels. The first prize stands at £200, the second at £100. Essays should not exceed 2000 words.

Entries should reach:

                        Dr Claire Gruzelier,
                        46 Sir John’s Road
                        Selly Park
                        Birmingham B29 7ER

by July 20 2008

The topics for this year are:

‘Ovid’s Metamorphoses is not just a collection of irrelevant old myths: their subject matter has universal application.’ Pick a retelling of one or two of Ovid’s stories and show how these are valid in today’s society.
Discuss the theme of deception in Greek tragedy.
Juvenal states that the Roman mob cared for nothing but ‘bread and circuses’. To what institutions was he referring and what are the modern-day equivalents? Have times changed?
‘What you find in Herodotus are cul-de-sacs within the sweep of history – how people betray each other for the sake of nations, how people fall in love.’ How apt a summary is this of the concerns of Herodotus in his Histories?
You may have read the article on Suasoria in this issue of Omnibus. Can you outdo Seneca by writing the opposite side of the argument?
Why do we still admire Greek art? Choose a building, sculpture or pot and discuss what makes it interesting today.
Choose a modern work of literature, a film or a visual image with a classical theme and discuss its treatment of the original source.

The judges’ decision is final and no correspondence will be entered into. Please keep a copy of your essay as it cannot be returned.

Gladstone Prize 2007

The judges would like to congratulate all 43 entrants on the very high standard of their work this year. This made it a great challenge to choose the winners of the competition, but eventually they decided to award first prize to Leo Maximilian Davidson (of Haberdashers’ Aske’s Boys’ School) for his essay entitled ‘How did Athenian democracy work? And how does it compare with that of Britain in the 21st century?’ Second prize went to Rosalind Cowen (of the Cheltenham Ladies’ College) for her essay ‘To what extent have classical sources influenced the role of the figure of Tiresias in T.S. Eliot’s The Wasteland?’ The judges would also like to commend Lucy Boler of Leeds Girls’ High School for her essay entitled ‘Cleopatra Queen of Egypt: victim or villain?’; Francesca Wade of North London Collegiate School for ‘How far does Homer’s Odyssey influence books 1-6 of Virgil’s Aeneid’ ; Michael Webb of Shrewsbury School for his essay on Athenian Democracy; and Tim Ramsey on Euripides’ Hippolytus. An extract from Leo Davidson’s prize-winning essay appears in Omnibus 55 (January 2008).

JOWETT SENDELAR ESSAY COMPETITION 2008

For Year 9 and under: approximately 1,500 – 2,500 words. Entrants are encouraged to illustrate work where appropriate.

a) WARFARE

Why did the Greeks win the fifth-century BC Persian Wars?

b) TROJAN WAR

An appeal has been made to Zeus that the Greeks did not deserve to win the Trojan War. As counsel for the Trojans OR the Greeks (but not both), present your case to the judges…

c) GREEK MYTHOLOGY

Heracles – Brainless Thug or Top Hero? Looking at the whole of Heracles’ career (not just the Labours), give your assessment of him as a hero.

d) ROME

Marcus – Roman Soldier. Chapter 7 – His Service in Britain.

Write Marcus’ story! You may choose to write in either biographical or autobiographical format. Remember that you need to include lots of ACCURATE historical detail (ie not just a recitation of violent battles)

Entries MUST be of A4 paper format (not on disc); printed, or written, in black or blue ink. Please do not use difficult-to-read fonts (e.g. all capitals).

Candidates MUST put their name, date of birth, and school on their entries. The judges would like to see a bibliography or a list of the sources consulted. A word-count should be given.

Entries should be marked “Jowett Sendelar Essay Competition” and sent to: Miss A. M. Wright, Head of Classics, Summer Fields, Mayfield Road, Oxford, OX2 7EN. The closing date for entries is 1st August 2008. Candidates will be notified in December 2008.

Please remember it is essential to include a stamped addressed envelope for the return of scripts, reports and any prizes. PLEASE attach the correct postage!

Joint Association of Classical Teachers Jowett-Sendelar Competition 2007

Report from the Judges
The 2007 Essay Competition saw a pleasing increase in entries from 154 in 2006 to 177 this year. On behalf of the organising committee, JACT and the Jowett Trustees, I offer my thanks to those teachers who continue to support the Competition and encourage their pupils to submit entries. As always, particular thanks must go to the Jowett Copyright Trustees for their essential support of the competition in both its administration and its generous prize money.

The question on Roman Entertainment attracted the most entries (79). The two mythology questions were the next most popular, with the Odysseus question attracting 32 entrants and the Heroes question attracting 40. There were 9 entries on Classics Today, which were all of a high standard, and 17 entrants tackled the question on Alexander the Great. Candidates’ ages ranged from 12 to 14.

Please can teachers ensure that they always include an appropriately-stamped SAE when they enter candidates to ensure the safe return of entries, candidate reports, and any prizes.

Essay titles for 2008 are available on above.

General Remarks
formatting, etc.

Entries must be presented on A4 paper and not on disc or paper of a different size.
Please give date of birth, age, word-count and bibliography – well over half the essays left out at least some of this information.
Illustrations really do help. Some of the entries made excellent use of these, but many ignored them altogether. It is also important to include captions giving the origin and indicating the relevance to the text.
Gratifyingly, pleas from earlier years on the subject of fonts seem to have been heeded. It is a great relief not to have to struggle through essays written in odd fonts (all capitals, multi-coloured, red print, etc.).

content, etc

The ability to provide coherent analysis was one of the key elements in selecting the best entries. The essay titles looked for sustained argument, not continuous narrative.
Grammar and punctuation are important! There appears to be a creeping growth in basic errors of punctuation (particularly where apostrophes and commas are concerned). It is a shame to see good candidates making silly mistakes. ‘There’ and ‘Their’ also appeared to cause a surprising amount of difficulty. Over-long sentences also detract from good work.
Candidates should avoid inappropriate use of informal language (e.g. ‘gob-smacked’, ‘humungous’ etc.)
Candidates should not fear to use the full word allowance – a well-sustained argument requires more words! Some essays would have benefited from using the full length.
Those essays which used only one or two websites were normally of lower standard than those which used books as well as websites. Wikipedia should also be treated with care – some entries are open to misinterpretation. Britannica online or Encarta are more reliable.
The girls of Woodford County High School (entering the competition for the first time) demonstrated excellent effort and their essays were of a notably high standard.
All the essays from Oundle were excellently presented.
It is clear that the Year 9 Latin sets at Rugby are all exposed to a considerable amount of classical culture - excellent!

PLAGIARISM
It was pleasing to see that plagiarism was down from last year, although there were still some candidates who were far too dependent upon internet sources. Again, I would ask that all teachers explain to pupils the need for original research and check to see that whole passages are not lifted from the internet.

Essay Titles 2007
a) WARFARE

“Alexander the Great’s reputation is grossly exaggerated.” Discuss with reference to both his military and political achievements.

b) CLASSICS TODAY

Write an essay to the Secretary of State for Education explaining why the study of the Classical World is so important today.

c) GREEK MYTHOLOGY

Which of Jason, Theseus or Perseus was the finest Greek hero and why?

d) ODYSSEUS

The Greeks greatly admired Odysseus. Did he deserve his reputation?

e) ROME

The Romans had many different forms of entertainment, such as the Circus Maximus, the amphitheatre, the baths and the theatre. Which would you most like to have visited and why? Would there have been any bad points about your chosen form of entertainment?

The Overall Winners
Two outstanding candidates, Benedict Pope (Lancing) and Suzy Duggan (Sherborne School for Girls) shared the position of overall winner. Each essay was very different in approach, Benedict Pope pursuing a scholarly and intricately-detailed approach to the question of Odysseus’ reputation while Suzy Duggan produced a very clever and witty debate, masterminded by Hermes, as to whether Jason, Theseus or Perseus was the best hero. Both entries were of such high quality that it was impossible to place one over the other.

Roman Entertainment
This section attracted the most entries. Many showed a detailed knowledge of the various forms of entertainment available to Romans and the best displayed a good understanding of why the Romans enjoyed forms of entertainment which would not be seen as acceptable today. A few entries made good use of illustrations, but there was a surprising dearth of images in most entries. The amphitheatre (albeit with interesting methods of spelling ‘Colosseum’) and chariot-racing were the most popular forms of entertainment, although many displayed concern that gladiatorial shows were excessively violent. Baths were less popular as most writers thought that they were very similar to today’s gym/sauna complexes and would not, therefore, be especially interesting to visit. Only six people chose the theatre as their preferred option. Manisha Punj (Woodford County High) gave a comprehensive and well-researched essay with lots of good material and sensible discussion of the attractions of the various entertainments. Nicholas Shekerdemian (The Mall) produced an accurate and detailed discussion of what was on offer to Romans.

Heroes
The second-most popular essay title was on Heroes. Perseus narrowly beat Theseus into second place for the best hero (18 to 17), with Jason trailing far behind. Perseus was chosen on the grounds that he had acted to help his mother and Theseus gained approval because he was an unselfish hero who aimed to help innocent people and Athens.

While there were some good entries in this section, many of the essays suffered from a lack of analysis. It is excellent to see detailed knowledge of mythology displayed, but the essay title demanded discussion as to which of the three heroes was the finest hero and why. Comparisons between the three were often very short or insufficiently detailed. Those which provided good analysis stood out from the rest. Suzy Duggan’s (Sherborne Girls) witty essay written in the style of a balloon debate between the three contestants was splendid. Izzi Murphy (Woodford County High for Girls) took a thematic approach, contrasting each hero’s actions at various stages, as well as providing lots of excellent analysis. George Baxter (Brentwood) also provided a detailed and thorough essay allied to careful analysis as to which was the best hero.

Odysseus
This essay question required answers which not just gave a summary of Odyssues’ life but attempted to analyse what his adventures revealed about his character. The main flaws in essays were lack of analysis and some surprising errors of fact. The very best essays in this section were packed with relevant detail, closely tied into thoughtful analysis. Benedict Pope (Lancing – Joint Overall Winner) demonstrated an extremely thorough knowledge of Odysseus’ entire life and produced a scholarly and well-written assessment of Odysseus’ character. His essay also benefited from a wide range of illustrations from the Classical World. Christopher Breeze (The Mall) also utilised excellent illustrations and his case was intelligently-argued and well-written. Bryony Choy (Oundle) entered a beautifully-presented essay which had a clear analysis of Odysseus’ good and bad points.

Warfare: Alexander the Great
Many essays displayed a sound grasp of Alexander’s life and a decent number showed a good understanding of tactics used on the battlefield. The main point which separated the most promising essays from the rest was the ability to analyse in what ways Alexander’s life showed that he did, or did not, deserve his reputation. Several entrants made sensible comments about how much Alexander owed to Philip and it was pleasing to see some entrants trying to analyse Alexander’s political reputation. Many focussed on Alexander’s attempts to fuse Persians and Macedonians, but only two referred to the collapse of his empire after his death. Surprisingly, few considered the significance of mutinies or the problems of the march through the Gedrosian desert and what these might suggest about Alexander’s abilities. Many of the essays in this section would have benefited from using the full word allowance. Matthew Dean (Whitgift) was the strongest candidate in this section and he addressed both Alexander’s talents and his flaws as a commander.

Classics Today
This topic attracted the fewest entries, but those who chose this section were vociferous in their desire to see Classics studied in all schools. Every essay referred to the importance of Latin as a basis for other languages and Latin’s influence on English. Many also raised the shared Roman history and heritage of Europe and beyond. Some even felt that the Roman Emperors could show our Prime Ministers a thing or two – although how far we would want to push that analogy is another question!

The best essays took in all aspects of the Classical World and stressed the importance of all aspects of intellectual endeavour – literature, philosophy, art, architecture, music, mathematics, science, medicine and the pursuit of knowledge – as well as recognising that many problems first faced by the Classical World are still alive today (law, politics, democracy, integration, religion and understanding other cultures). Interestingly, few discussed the intellectual challenge of studying the languages. Lara Kim Tance (Francis Holland) gave a well-constructed, wide-ranging argument in favour of studying Classics while Victoria Kent-Baguley (Rugby) presented a passionate case for the intellectual stimulus afforded in so many aspects of life by Classics. Perhaps the best quotation comes from Hamish Miller (King’s, Taunton): “Some say that Classics is a boring subject, but I see no sense in this at all. Surely they cannot say that myths and legends full of suicide, murder, romance and adventure are dull?”

Overall Winner

1=	Benedict Pope	Odysseus	Lancing
1=	Suzy Duggan	Heroes	Sherborne Girls

Distinction

3	Christopher Breeze	Odysseus	The Mall
4	Lara Kim Tance	Classics	Francis Holland
5	Manisha Punj	Rome	Woodford County High

Merit

6	Izzi Murphy	Heroes	Woodford County High
7	George Baxter	Heroes	Brentwood
8	Victoria Kent-Baguley	Classics	Rugby
9	Nicholas Shekerdemian	Rome	The Mall
10	Bryony Choy	Odysseus	Oundle

Highly Commended

11	Seema Syeda	Rome	Woodford County High
12	Matthew Dann	Alexander	Whitgift
13	James Aaronson	Heroes	Colet Court
14	Roisin Briody	Heroes	Woodford County High
15	Sobitha Kumararajan	Rome	Woodford County High
16	Sinthuja Viyasar	Rome	Woodford County High
17	Jack Finerty	Odysseus	Colet Court
18	Frankie White	Classics	Rugby
19	Serena Bagria	Rome	Woodford County High
20	Rioghnach Sachs	Odysseus	Bancroft’s

Commended

21	Martijn Bokkerink	Rome	Colet Court
22	Richard Edmond	Rome	Bolton Boys
23	Peter Buscombe	Classics	Bancroft’s
24	Jennie Reynolds	Heroes	Queen’s Chester
25	James Ashcroft	Alexander	RGS Guildford
26	David Mlyneux	Alexander	Bolton Boys
27	Emily Porter	Rome	Woodford County High
28	Hamish Miller	Classics	King’s, Taunton
29	Rhys Watkins	Heroes	RGS Guildford
30	Oliver Kiddell	Heroes	Bancroft’s
31	Sarah Burgess	Odysseus	Queen’s Chester
32	James Moberley	Alexander	Colet Court
33	Frances Wilson-Morketh	Odysseus	Oundle
34	Charles Constable	Alexander	Merchant Taylor’s
35	Holly Stewart	Classics	Bancroft’s
36	Rhiannon Lock	Heroes	Woodford County High
37	Chris Mills	Odysseus	Rugby
38	Rohan Mehra	Odysseus	Rugby
39	Alex Bick	Heroes	Woodford County High
40	Micheal Conroy	Heroes	Bolton Boys
41	Gabrielle Pereira	Heroes	North London Collegiate
42	Marianna Drake	Heroes	Rugby
43	Alex Barron	Rome	Colet Court
44	Hugo Laffey	Heroes	Oundle
45	Sarah Twaite	Heroes	Oundle
46	Tim Wordie	Heroes	St Peter’s, York
47	Henrietta Dyson	Rome	Rugby
48	Joe Wallace	Rome	King Edward VI Grammar, Chelmsford
49	Max Wilson	Rome	Derby Grammar
50	Niraj Pritmani	Odysseus	Bury Grammar School for Boys
51	Tom Burgess	Rome	Colet Court
52	Nicole Norton	Heroes	Woodford County High
53	Beth Hall	Odysseus	St Peter’s, York
54	Hatty Ruddock	Odysseus	Berkhamstead Collegiate
55	Somkay Okonkwo	Heroes	John Fisher School

Competing Schools:
Bancroft’s; Berkhamstead Collegiate; Bolton School Boys’ Division; Brentwood; Colet Court; Bury Grammar School for Boys; Derby Grammar; Francis Holland; John Fisher School, Surrey; King Edward VI Grammar, Chelmsford; King’s, Taunton; Lancing; The Mall, Twickenham; Merchant Taylors’; North London Collegiate; Oundle; Royal Grammar School, Guildford; Queen’s, Chester; St Peter’s, York; Rugby; Sherborne School for Girls; Whitgift; Woodford County High for Girls.

A. M. Wright
Summer Fields, Oxford

CERTAMEN IN CONCORDIAM EUROPAE REGIONUM OMNIUM

‘A Competition to promote harmony in all areas of Europe’

The name CICERO is an acronym in Latin, and you can see the translation of it in italics above. This is an innovative competition organised by teachers of Latin in several different European countries for their 6th form students, illustrating that Latin provides a worthwhile and valid reason for young people to interact with each other across their national boundaries.

On Friday 18th April 2008 students in different countries in Europe will take part in the second edition of this competition – answering the same questions at the same time, linking with the different centres by video-conferencing, and competing for both European and national prizes. There are two parts to the competition : the Latin translation section is open to 6th form students of Latin and the Mythology section to students of other Classical subjects. The UK centre for the competition is Malvern St James, a school in the Midlands which is close to the M5 motorway and only yards from Great Malvern railway station.

Look at the UK page of the competition website for further details – please consider entering this unique competition and we will make you very welcome in Malvern! Boris Johnson, the Shadow Minister for Higher Education has recorded a video message to encourage you. Registration forms can be downloaded or you can contact the school by post or telephone.

www.ciceroeuropa.eu