The Rex Nettleford Prize is an essay competition open to UK students who are currently in Year 12. The winner of the competition is awarded a prize of £250.
The purpose of the Prize is:
- To promote awareness amongst 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 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 based in the UK and be in Year 12 (or equivalent) at their school or college.
- 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 Enter
Rex Nettleford Prize is now closed for entries.
Prizes will be awarded at Oriel College on the occasion of the Rex Nettleford Lecture during Trinity Term 2023.
Questions for the 2023 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.
- What role do the arts play in the creation or challenging of racialized hierarchies?
- Pick an object that you think illuminates the legacies of colonialism, and explain why and how.
- How long do the legacies of colonialism last?
- “The truth is one and same, everywhere in the universe. Therefore, proposals to de-colonise academic curricula are wrong-headed.” Discuss.
2022 Competition Result
The previous winners were Alisha Mafaas and Panod Pongpattanapun.
Alisha Mafaas’s essay had an historical focus and explored the colonisation of Sri Lanka by the Portuguese from 1505 to 1658, looking at how language was an essential tool in the assertion of colonial domination, and how linguistic influences continue long after colonies have been relinquished.
Panod Pongpattanapun’s essay also explored the topic of language as a tool of colonial domination, making use of linguistic theory to discuss the effects of languages in colonial policies in South Africa during the period of British colonial domination from the early 1800s.
Special commendations were also awarded to the following students for their entries:
Lamisa Ahad, Taslima Begum, Ronan Dhadra, James Hunter, Cameron McNaughton-Smith, and Samuel Richardson.