Written Submission for Britain
This competition closed on 17 February 2024.
See our 2024 prize winners on the theme
'Biodiversity Matters'
Objective
To encourage students to use their journalistic skills to look at a topical issue
which is relevant to Catholic Social Teaching and resonates with Columban mission.
The topic for 2023/2024 is Biodiversity Matters.
Rules
Entrants must live in Britain (England, Scotland or Wales).
Entrants must be 13-18 inclusive
(they must have turned 13 on or before 31 August 2023).Entries must be made by individuals.
No more than 1 written entry per person.
A piece of writing or image generated by AI technology is not allowed. We may require teachers to verify that submissions are original.
Entries can be articles or poems and must be original content.
Entries must be no longer than 1000 words and a minimum of around 800 words. The minimum word count for poems is more flexible.
Entries must be in English.
Where facts or figures are quoted, they must be credited to the source.
Judges
Mary Colwell, Author and champion for curlew recovery and nature education.
Jao Resari is a Columban lay missionary in Taiwan and a talented artist.
Ruth Gledhill, Multi-Media Editor at The Tablet.
Josephine Siedlecka, Founder and Editor of Independent Catholic News.
James Trewby, Education Worker for the Columbans in Britain.
Assisted by Ellen Teague, Fr Pat Sayles, Anna Marshall and Anna Blackman.
Judging Criteria
Quality of the presentation.
Definition, clarity and fairness.
A representation of some knowledge of the subject and first-hand experience if possible.
Have kept in mind Catholic Social Teaching.
Originality.
Reporting depth.
Construction.