Gresham Schools’ Competition 2023-24 Final

Many congratulations to the twelve finalists from schools across the UK who competed in the final of the Gresham Schools’ Competition yesterday, delivering five-minute presentations on a variety of challenging topics.

The overall winner of the Gold Award was Nikhil Banerjee, of Queen Elizabeth’s School, Barnet who impressed the judges with an exploration of the ethics of genome editing to eradicate genetic diseases. Nikhil will receive £9,250 towards their first-year university tuition and £1,000 for a laptop. His school will recieve £1000. 

Second place was awarded to Aaya El Sidani, of Bishopshalt School, and third place to Taya Martin of Netherthorpe School, Chesterfield; they will receive £800 and £600 towards laptops respectively. 

Chair of the Judging Panel, Professor Sarah Hart, said: "Nikhil’s presentation in particular demonstrated a thorough grasp of a complex issue, one of the most challenging ethical debates of our time. His argument was reasoned and powerful.”

Two New Awards 

We were delighted to introduce two further prizes this year, kindly sponsored by the The Rosetrees Trust and the Merchant Taylors’ Foundation, for the top presentations given on STEM and Arts & Humanities subjects respectively. 

The Rosetrees Trust winner was Mia Arkan, of Henrietta Barnett School, Hampstead; Abdia Jahangeer, of Brampton Manor Academy, East Ham was the runner up.  

The Merchant Taylors’ Foundation winner was Scarlett Delacoe-Eyre of Carmel College, Darlington; Kiwandeep Singh, of Lampton Academy, Hounslow was the runner up.

The full list of finalists was as follows:

• Aaya El Sidani, Bishopshalt School
• Efemena Kelvin Omonigho, Oaklands School
• Mia Arkan, Henrietta Barnett Sixth Form
• Abdia Jahangeer, Brampton Manor Academy
• Nikhil Banerjee, Queen Elizabeth’s School, Barnet
• Kiwandeep Singh, Lampton Academy
• Sam Maugham, Graveney Sixth Form
• Zara Bokay, Saffron Walden County High School
• Taya Martin, Netherthorpe School
• Scarlett Delacoe-Eyre, Carmel College Darlington
• Lubna Khatoon, George Salter Academy
• Princesa Moncada Morocho, Lymm High School 

The competition attracted over 400 entries from across the UK.

We would also like to thank Dr Jürgen Behrend for his generous support of the Gresham Competition this year, helping us to widen the reach of the Competition and its impact to students across the country.

Read the full press release