Congratulations to Angharad Thain on winning the 2008 Vellacott History Prize essay competition. This is the second time in three years that a pupil from Methody has won this prestigious award.

Peterhouse, the oldest College in Cambridge, runs the competition every year. It aims to give students in Year 12 or Lower 6th who are considering applying to university an opportunity to write about a subject they are personally interested in, helping them to develop the independent study skills they need in order to do well at A level and then later at university.

To enter the competition, Angharad had to choose one subject from a set list of titles and write an essay containing between 2000 and 4000 words. Some of the titles for the competition this year included:

- Has the idea of the nation been exaggerated as a focus for popular loyalty?
- Does childhood have a history?
- How important is for historians to know about the weather?
- Should the history of Nazi Germany be 'normalised'?
- How does dictatorship differ from tyranny?

Angharad chose the title "Why has the United Nations proved more successful than the League of Nations?" and her essay was selected as the winner, netting her £500 prize money as well as the achievement of winning in this prestigious competition. She received her prize from the Master of Peterhouse, Cambridge, Lord Wilson, at a ceremony on Tuesday 24 June. Congratulations Angharad!

Her essay in a similar competition organised by Corpus Christi College, Cambridge was awarded a 'Commended', by the History Fellows.