The R.A. Butler Prize for essays in Politics and International Studies
This competition is open to students in Year 12 or the Lower 6th
The Prize is jointly organised by Trinity College Cambridge and Cambridge University’s Department of Politics and International Studies.
It was established in memory of the former Master of Trinity College, Lord Butler, who most famously served as Home Secretary and Chancellor of the Exchequer, and who was responsible for the introduction of free secondary education for all students in the UK.
The objectives of the R.A. Butler Prize are twofold. Firstly, it aims to encourage students with an interest in modern politics and world affairs to think about undertaking university studies in Politics, International Studies or a related discipline; it is not limited to those already studying these subjects or indeed other social sciences. Secondly, its intention is to recognise the achievements both of high-calibre students and of those who teach them.
This year's questions
- How can a government be held accountable for its actions during episodes of national crisis?
- Do international organisations matter in times of global crises, and if so how?
- Is working from home a disaster for feminism?
- Should capital punishment have any place in 21st-century democracies?
- Should people offending each other on social media be a matter of criminal justice?
- Can news media be politically neutral?
- How does Brexit affect the European Union's role in world politics?
- Do wealthy nations owe anything to poor nations?
- Why do developing countries suffer more frequently from conflict than the developed countries?
- Has the experience of the COVID-19 pandemic taught us anything that may help in better addressing the climate catastrophe?
Download the questions here>>
Useful information
Format
Essays should be 3500 words at the most, including all footnotes and references but excluding the bibliography. It’s worth considering the use of examples in your essays: the best essays often use a diverse selection of contemporary, historical or literary examples.
We encourage you to provide references to your sources of information and to include a bibliography at the end of the essay. Please include your name on the document and save the file as “Surname, First name”.
Eligibility
The Prize is for students in Year 12 or Lower 6th at the time the questions are released in March. Students abroad are most welcome to participate. They should, however, be in their penultimate year of school. Each entrant to the competition is allowed to submit only one essay.
Deadline
Essays must be submitted by Monday 2 August 2021.
You can submit your essays here>>
Prize
The competition carries a First Prize of £600, to be split equally between the candidate and his or her school or college (the school or college’s portion of the prize to be issued in the form of book tokens), and a Second Prize of £400, which again is to be shared equally between the candidate and his or her school or college. Winners will be announced in September and will be invited to visit the College to meet some of the teaching staff.
Contact
Any queries from students who may be interested in submitting work for the prize, or their teachers, should be emailed to butlerprize@trin.cam.ac.uk.
Previous Prize winners
2020 winners:
First prize: Lydia Allenby, Gosforth Academy, Newcastle upon Tyne
Second prize: Louis Danker, City of London School, London
2019 winners:
First Prize: Matthew Gursky, Hall Cross Academy, Doncaster
Second Prize: Evie Morgan, Ipswich School, Ipswich
2018 winners:
First Prize: Gergely Bérces, Milestone Institute, Budapest, Hungary
Second Prize: Tatyana Goodwin, Varndean College, Brighton & Eloise George, Hills Road Sixth Form College, Cambridge
2017 winners:
First Prize: Folu Ogunyeye, Aylesbury High School
Second Prize: Eve McMullen, Minster School, Southwell
2016 winners:
First Prize: Silas Edwards, St Mary Redcliffe and Temple School, Bristol
Second Prize: Eliza Harry, Greene's Tutorial College, Oxford
2015 winners:
First Prize: Stephen Horvath, Westminster School, London
Second Prize: Grace Elshafei, Sevenoaks School, Kent
2014 winners:
First Prize: Oscar Alexander-Jones, St Paul's School, London
Second Prize: Sam Maybee, King Edward VI Five Ways School, Birmingham
2013 winners:
First prize: Eleanor Shearer, Westminster School, London
Second prize (joint): Stephanie Clarke, Lancaster Girls' Grammar School, Lancaster
Second prize (joint): Will Barnes, Manchester Grammar School, Manchester
2012 winners:
First prize: Kiah Ashford-Stow, King Edward VI School, Southampton
Second prize: Jamie Sproul, Stamford School, Stamford, Lincolnshire
2011 winners:
First prize: Aman Rizvi, Winchester College, Winchester
Second prize: Frans Robyns, Kings College School, Wimbledon