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The 2023 Oxford Scientist Competition, which was more competitive and rewarding than ever, featured a distinguished panel of senior judges, including Nobel Prize-winning physician scientist Sir Peter Ratcliffe, Environmental Researcher Dr Anna Murgatroyd, Senior Researcher in Translational Proteomics Dr Darragh O’Brien and Postdoctoral Researcher Dr Hannah Jones. The competition was proudly organised by the Oxford Scientist team and led by the Competition Leads Franziska Guenther and Gavin Man.

We are delighted to announce the winners and runners-up for the 2023 Schools Science Writing Competition.

The overall winner of the competition is ‘The wheels on the bus… return of the flywheel‘ by Joseph Lailey, Sandringham School.

Year 12-13 winner is ‘Bacteria: Taking a bite out of climate change‘ by Isabel Hubbard, Abbey School, Reading.

Year 10-11 winner is ‘Has scientific visibility come with greater skepticism or support?‘ by Mariam Elalfy, Wolverhampton Girls High School.

Runners-up

‘How has Covid-19 changed public perception of Science?‘ by Abira Prasad, The Tiffin Girls’ School.

‘Geoengineering: The Ethical Dilemma of Climate Science‘ by Aoife Oliver, St James’ Catholic High School.

‘Has COVID-19 changed public perception of Science?‘ by Leonardo Mercado, Radley College.

‘Climate change denial: cause for concern?‘ by Milly Kanagasabay, Guildford High School.

‘The path to save the world is a bleak one’ by Michael Coleman, St Augustine’s Catholic Sixth Form.

‘Climate Change: Complicated Science, Complex Solutions?’ by Matt Fitchie, RGS Guildford.

The Judges

Dr Sir Peter Ratcliffe

Peter J. Ratcliffe, M.D. is a physician scientist who trained as a nephrologist, before founding the hypoxia biology laboratory at Oxford. His laboratory elucidated mechanisms by which human and animal cells sense oxygen levels and transduce these signals to direct adaptive changes in gene expression. For this work he shared the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 2019.

He holds appointments as Director of Clinical Research at the Francis Crick Institute, London, and is a Distinguished Scholar of the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research at the University of Oxford.

But it’s not all hard work: this year he took part in an episode of Master Chef and attended the King’s Coronation.

Dr Anna Murgatroyd

Dr Anna Murgatroyd is a research associate at the Environmental Change Institute in the School of Geography and the Environment at the University of Oxford. Her research focuses on making sure we have access to safe and reliable water, both now and in the future. She has experience modelling water systems, examining the vulnerability of water supplies to climate change and changing demand. She also investigates potential new water supply infrastructure, demand management schemes, operating policies and regulatory rules, working closely with the Environment Agency and OFWAT.

Dr Darragh O’Brien

Dr Darragh O’Brien is a senior researcher in Translational Proteomics at the Nuffield Department of Medicine, University of Oxford, where he utilizes biological mass spectrometry approaches to characterize and decipher mechanisms of human disease. His interests lie in how protein structural disorder and modifications such as phosphorylation and ubiquitination relate to protein function and disease, with a specific focus on neurodegeneration. He obtained his PhD in Neuroscience at the Institute of Psychiatry, King’s College London, which was supervised by Professor Sir Simon Lovestone, where he developed quantitative proteomic strategies for the discovery and validation of plasma and cerebrospinal fluid biomarkers of Alzheimer’s Disease. In addition, Dr O’Brien has held research positions at Institut Pasteur in Paris and University College London. In his spare time, Darragh is an avid reader, and enjoys supporting his native Ireland in rugby.

Dr Hannah Jones

Dr Hannah Jones studied her PhD at the University of Bath in biophysics, on the thermodynamics of enzyme catalysis. Since 2019 she has worked as a Postdoctoral Research Associate at the University of Oxford, within the Nuffield Department of Medicine. There, she applies mass spectrometry based proteomics to investigate a potential drug target for the treatment of Parkinson’s disease.

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Take part in The Oxford Scientist Schools Competition 2024!

September Update: The 2024 competition is now closed. Thank you to all the students and teachers who have sent submissions to the competition. We are preparing to publish the winners soon along with the finalists on our partner publication by 22nd September. The links to both will be added here.

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We are excited to announce the details of the 2024 edition of The Oxford Scientist Schools Competition. Please read each section below and the FAQ carefully as there are new rules and procedures for 2024.

Update for 2024: In response to an ever-evolving landscape with generative AI tools, such as Chat GPT, we have reworked our marking procedures to maintain fairness and rigour. Please note that as of 2024, the essay must be submitted by your UK school teacher. Link to join Teacher Mailing list to be notified upon future competitions. Please get in touch ahead of deadline if there are issues with the form.

Students may choose from ONE of the following themes:

“Evolution: anything and everything from Survival to Free Will”

OR

“Data and humans in the digital age”

Guidelines for Submissions

• Eligibility: Open to students in Year 10 to Year 13 (or equivalent*) attending a UK school, college, or sixth form (School must be physically addressed in the UK) Officially UK Homeschooled students are also eligible in those year groups.
• Titles: Students should select one of the themes and then research and choose a specific area or topic to discuss in their essay.
• Essay Requirements: Essays must be the student’s original work, independently written without any form of plagiarism, including the use of pre-written texts or artificial intelligence-generated content. Articles should be relevant to the chosen theme and demonstrate originality, quality of analysis, and engagement with the topic.
• Word Limit: Maximum of 700 words. No bibliography is required.
• Submission Process: Please coordinate with your school teacher to submit your essay. Teachers can find the submission portal here.
• Deadline: Submissions must be received by Midnight, Wednesday 10th July, 2024.

Click here for Teacher Submission Portal.

All essays must be submitted by teachers on behalf of their students at school. If you have alternative schooling or mitigating circumstances please see the FAQ or email [email protected]. Please email us for the UK Homeschooled students form.

Additional Information: Both themes will be marked equally and students are encouraged to have the freedom to explore any relevant ideas ranging from present-day ideas and developments, computation and AI to historic ideas, and philosophical concepts. We are really interested to hear your original ideas, but please make sure that they are relevant to the theme! Articles will be judged by our panel of experts. Please take note that your submissions will be assessed on relevance to the question, quality of scientific analysis, originality, writing style and grammar, interest to a general audience, and factual accuracy. You should try to write at a level that would be simple enough for someone who has an interest in science but isn’t an expert on the topic you are writing about.

Awards & Opportunities

• Publication: Winning articles will be featured in the Oxford Scientist magazine and on our website, showcasing your work to a broad audience.
• Feedback Session with Competition Officials: Winners and runners-up will be invited to an exclusive feedback session with competition organizers. This is a unique chance to gain insights and improve your scientific communication skills.
• Supercurricular: This competition offers a fantastic opportunity to explore scientific topics beyond your school curriculum, and it’s a standout addition to university applications. We encourage entries from all students, regardless of previous experience in science writing.
• Opportunities for Finalists: Articles from competitors who reach the final round may also be considered for publication by our affiliated partners, giving even non-winners a platform to share their innovative ideas.
• Winner Trophy and Certificates.
• School Leaderboard Recognition: Schools that submit the highest number of entries will be featured on our website, recognizing them as top schools for engaging in supercurricular activities.

This competition is rigorously marked by the Oxford Scientist and by senior judges. Recently, in the 2023 Competition judged by a distinguished panel of senior judges, including Nobel Prize-winning physician scientist Sir Peter Ratcliffe, Environmental Researcher Dr Anna Murgatroyd, Senior Researcher in Translational Proteomics Dr Darragh O’Brien and Postdoctoral Researcher Dr Hannah Jones. The competition is run by the Oxford Scientist team and led by Franziska Guenther and Gavin Man.

Examples of winning essays from previous competitions can be found here. We strongly recommend that you read our FAQs before you start writing your article. If you have any further questions about the competition, please email [email protected].

*(Year 14, 13, 12, 11 in Northern Ireland and S3, S4, S5, S6 in Scotland)

Click here for Teacher Submission Portal

Join our Teacher Mailing List to be notified for future competition releases!

Our Sponsors

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We are also sponsored by Examable, a UK based educational firm that specialises in creating revision and learning resources for students applying to Top Independent Schools and for Leading UK Universities. Checked and approved by a team of Oxford University students, designers and GCSE & A level examiners. examable.co.uk

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