School Essay Competition
The School Essay Competition, organised in partnership with the Financial Times, invites students to answer a topical geographical question.
2025 School Essay Competition
Details of the 2025 School Essay Competition are currently being finalised and will be released on this page in the early summer term.
2024 School Essay Competition
Well done to everyone who participated in the 2024 competition; we received a lot of excellent entries.
The results of the competition are:
Winner
Santiago Souto, Hastings School, Madrid
Highly Commended
Maariyah Alli, Bancroft's School, Woodford Green, Essex
Felix Gibbons, Exeter School
Jessica Harrison, Esher Sixth Form College
Nafeesah Kamal, The Grey Coat Hospital School, London
Megan Lam, Diocesan Girls' School, Hong Kong
Eden McCartney, The Grey Coat Hospital School, London
Desola Omonijo, Downe House School, West Berkshire
Alice Osborne, Eastbourne College
Lara Ricard, Sydenham High School
Nathan Smith, Chellaston Academy, Derby
Sara Urdaneta, The Marlborough Science Academy, St Albans
William Vinecombe, Lord Wandsworth College, Hampshire
Calla Whitby, Cokethorpe School, Oxfordshire
Roni Xie, Guildford High School
Everyone listed here (and their teacher, from the accompanying entry form) will be contacted separately by the Society.
About the 2024 School Essay Competition
The 2024 School Essay Competition, organised in partnership with the Financial Times, asked students to answer the following question:
Drawing on information from your daily life, what sustainability action points would you prioritise?
Entrants were asked to include no more than ten key ideas. They had to justify their choices. Accompanying information from the FT and other sources had to be used.
This resource was provided as a useful starting point. Carbon counting: how much do your lifestyle choices cost the planet? (ft.com)
The judges were looking for:
- A clear essay or ArcGIS StoryMap that was well-evidenced and reached a clear conclusion.
- Submissions that did not exceed 1,000 words (excluding references).
- Referenced sources of information and data.
- Submissions that were the entrant’s own work and relevant to the question and guidance.
The Society runs this competition in partnership with the Financial Times as part of its education programme to support geography teachers and their pupils.
