The Essay Competition is the latest collaborative venture and started in 2012. Students entering our sixth forms have a chance to spend their summer holiday writing an extended essay on a given topic(s) to be submitted in early September. The short listed essays are then sent to Dr Nicholas Perkins, Lecturer in English at St Hugh’s College, Oxford who places them in order of merit. In late November every year, a ‘prize Supper’ takes place at Emanuel School and Dr Perkins gives out the prizes and talks to the students about their work. Each short-listed student is given a hard back book containing all the prize winning essays.
The next Essay Competition is on 26 November at Emanuel School.
“As well as the academic education – which delivers excellent results across a full spectrum of abilities – there is every opportunity and encouragement for the students to become involved in a very dynamic and wide-ranging co-curricular line-up.”
Parent
“The school understands our children as individuals; and, as an institution, has the necessary financial strength, cultural values and, most importantly, a coherent and effective leadership, dedicated teaching staff of a very high standard and strong governance support to foster our children’s development into self-confident adults, who can achieve their best in life.”
Parent
“My biggest achievement at SV is securing a solid set of GCSE and A Level grades to set me up for the best start in life. I have never been academic, but the way Sutton Valence assists their students to work to their best ability has meant I am incredibly proud of the results I have achieved.”
Teddy Turpin, ex-pupil
“It has made me more organised, and has allowed me to establish a good balance between work and sport. The school has inspired me to succeed and has motivated me to try my hardest in whatever I do”
Patrick Backhouse, ex-pupil
“The sense of community makes it feel as though you are part of a safe but exciting family. Nowhere looks out for you like Sutton Valence School does”