Year 12 Student Lewis’s Essay Earns Second Place at Prestigious London Ceremony

Having had the honour of receiving the second place prize in the History of Totalitarianism Essay Competition, Year 12 student Lewis was invited to the Awards Ceremony for the competition which took place at the Athenaeum Hall in London, where he was able to meet the other highly commended entrants.

With the competition focusing on the Cultural Revolution, the ceremony opened with a stern depiction of its elements. Recollections from eyewitnesses in particular provided a solemn reminder of the chaos and brutality associated with the Cultural Revolution. This was made further profound through Jung Chang’s speech on her experiences, being itself a key facet of the competition, as depicted through her world-renowned book Wild Swans. It reinforced the harsh truth that the tragedies of history and its victims were real and still in living memory. It soon came for the time for awards to be given, however. Out of over a hundred entrants, Lewis managed to place second, being undoubtedly a monumental achievement.

After the ceremony concluded, the contestants had the further opportunity to consult Chang, which deepened their insight into the otherwise confusing and tumultuous historical period.