A Sixth Form student at Saint Benedict has won one of the top prizes in a national essay writing competition.

Kinga Mierzejewska, in Year 13, entered the National College of Humanities essay writing competition and came third out of 500 entries. She won £250 and was offered the opportunity to visit the college in London.

The Sixth Form student decided to enter the competition after hearing about it through school.

She said: “There were eight essay titles to choose from and I chose the History one which was ‘How does humanity adapt to climate change?’. I thought I could link it to other subjects and research the different themes throughout history.

“When I entered the competition I didn’t expect to hear anything back, I just thought I would try it out. Then the college rang me and told me I’d come third and that they would like to meet me so I went to London. I was shocked but quite happy.

“I am not 100 per cent sure what I want to do next yet but I think I would like to go to university and study languages.”

Mrs Boyce congratulated Kinga on her achievement.

She said: “Kinga’s award is magnificent and a real reflection of her hard work and dedication. We are incredibly proud to have Kinga in our Sixth Form and know this is just the very beginning of her experiencing success – there is more to come for Kinga!”