In November 2021, Oriel College inaugurated the Rex Nettleford Essay Prize for Year 12 students. Now in its fifth year, we are delighted to announce that entries for the 2026 competition are now open.
The prize is intended to encourage students to engage with the legacies of colonialism in all its forms – historical, political, economic, social, cultural. Colonialism is a major theme in British history. Its legacies are all around us. By writing an essay for the prize, a student has an opportunity to uncover the enduring influence of colonialism in our society and culture and to address some of the difficult and uncomfortable questions that it poses.
Whilst interest in British colonialism and its legacy provides the specific context for these prizes, colonialism is an activity with a much longer and more geographically diverse extent. Essays can address any relevant aspect, historical phase, cultural manifestation or geographical centre of colonialism, ancient or modern.
The prizes will be awarded on the occasion of an annual lecture also on the topic of ‘Colonialism and its Legacies’, which will take place in May 2026. One of the two prizes awarded will be given to the best entrant from one of Oriel College’s link schools: these are non-selective state schools in Walsall, Wolverhampton, Dudley, Herefordshire, Worcestershire, Kensington & Chelsea, and Richmond upon Thames.
The prizes and annual lecture series are dedicated to Oriel alumnus Rex Nettleford, in recognition of his distinguished contributions in the fields of scholarship, culture, and education.
Rex Nettleford
Ralston “Rex” Nettleford (3 February 1933 to 2 February 2010) was an author, academic, dancer, and activist.
Born in Falmouth, Jamaica, Nettleford grew up in the country and graduated with a degree in History from the University of the West Indies. In 1957, he received a Rhodes Scholarship to Oriel College, Oxford and obtained an MPhil in Political Science. He returned to Jamaica in order to take up a position at the University of the West Indies, where he was Vice-Chancellor from 1998 to 2004.
In his academic work, Nettleford focused on issues of cultural identity particularly in the wake of colonialism. He repeatedly stressed “the importance and force of the exercise of the creative intellect and the creative imagination […] in shaping a new and civilised society out of slavery, colonialism and their aftermath, and building democratic nations out of erstwhile colonial fiefdoms”; “for the arts are a form of action.”
Rules of the Competition
The Rex Nettleford Essay Prize is an essay writing competition open to all UK students in Year 12. There are two equal prizes of £250 awarded to the competition winners. At least one of these prizes will be awarded to a pupil from one of Oriel’s link schools, which are non-selective state schools in Walsall, Wolverhampton, Dudley, Herefordshire, Worcestershire, Kensington & Chelsea, and Richmond upon Thames.
The purpose of the Prize is:
- To promote awareness among students in Year 12 of issues relating to colonialism and its legacies.
- To encourage students in Year 12 to develop their abilities for independent research and thought.
- To support teachers of able pupils by providing interesting and challenging further work and by bringing such students into contact with Higher Education.
- To encourage able students to consider applying to study subjects in the Humanities and Social Sciences, either at Oxford or at another university, by giving them experience of the type of work involved.
- To further the College’s outreach work by encouraging participation from our link schools.
- To recognise the effort and achievement of the most successful submissions by a prize and commendations.
Note: the judges will not able to provide feedback on submissions.
Assessment Criteria
- Entrants should be in Year 12 (or equivalent) at a UK school or college. Please note we are unable to accept entries from British schools overseas.
- Students must address a topic that is not directly related to their A level course.
- The judges will look for a clear grasp of issues addressed, clarity in structuring and presentation of the argument, a critical approach to primary and secondary source materials, and originality of thought.
How to Apply
- Essays should be no more than 2,500 words in length and should be on ONE of the given questions below.
- The candidate may answer the question they select from the perspective of any discipline of their choosing (e.g. History, English Literature, Economics, etc.) but they must indicate at the head of their essay which discipline they have chosen.
- Essays should be word processed and submitted to outreach@oriel.ox.ac.uk with the subject line ‘Nettleford Prize’. Submissions should be in PDF format and attached as a copy to email. Essays that are submitted as cloud files will not be considered.
- A font size not less than 12pt should be used; page margins should be set to no less than 2.54cm.
- Essays must be accompanied by a bibliography, which does not count towards the word limit. Students are also welcome to use footnotes for referencing, but this is not required.
- Entries must be sent with a completed entry form, which is available to download below. This entry form must also be signed by a teacher to certify that the essay is the student’s original, unaided work and that it does not directly relate to the syllabuses of the A Level subjects they are studying. Submissions sent with incomplete entry forms may not be considered.
Essays must be received by 12pm on Monday 23 February 2026.
Prizes will be awarded to the winners and highly commended entrants at Oriel College on the occasion of the Rex Nettleford Lecture in May 2026.
Questions for the 2026 Competition
Candidates must answer ONE of the following questions. Candidates should feel free to focus their answer in terms of its historical period, geographical centre and cultural range.
- How might present day inequalities (for example in income, opportunities, or access to services) be related to colonialism? Discuss with reference to a specific example or examples.
- How do conventions of genre shape narratives about colonialism and its legacies? Discuss with reference to one or two examples of either fictional or historical narratives in any medium (for example literature, art, or film).
- Choose an institution in either the present or the past (for example a political, economic, cultural or legal institution) and discuss how colonialism has influenced its development, and with what consequences.
- Have colonial ideas or systems impacted trust in biomedical research? Discuss with reference to a specific example or examples.
Useful resources for essay writing
Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ) – open access, peer-reviewed journals in all areas of science, technology, medicine, social sciences, and humanities
JSTOR – an open access platform for scholarship, primary sources, and research collections
Open Library of Humanities – a non-profit, open access publisher of humanities and social sciences journals
Internet Archive – a non-profit library of texts, movies, websites, and more
Study skills and referencing:
University of Oxford tips for reading, note-taking and library skills
University of Oxford referencing and citation explained
University of Oxford Bodleian Libraries guide to different referencing styles
University of Oxford Bodleian Libraries guide to referencing tools and systems
Rex Nettleford Essay Prize Webinar Series
A three-part webinar series to introduce the competition and help students develop skills in independent research and essay writing will take place in January 2026, hosted by Oriel’s Outreach team and DPhil students at the College. Booking for these free sessions will open in December 2025.