We are delighted to announce Kirsty Davies (pictured left) from Bishop Vaughan Catholic School is the winner of this year’s BSA Young Sociologist of the Year Competition. Sociology teacher, Donna Davies, supported Kirsty’s application. Kirsty won an iPad for herself and £500 for the school.

The winning essay addressed the question: ‘To what extent, and in what ways, is patriarchy alive and kicking?’ Read Kirsty’s essay (contains reference to a sex act and sexual harassment).

The judges said,

“This entry was inspired by personal experience of public harassment and built on this to explore how patriarchy affects girls and women in public. The essay effectively linked the findings of the student’s questionnaire to feminist writings to show how females are expected to change their behaviour rather than men changing theirs.”

This year’s competition attracted an unprecedented number of entries, with 174 students submitting their work. The significant increase in submissions led us to invite BSA members to volunteer as judges, joining two BSA trustees on the judging panel. We’d like to extend our sincere thanks to every BSA member who graciously volunteered their time for the judging process, and a heartfelt thank you also goes out to all six judges who collaboratively reviewed every submission.

The judging panel was impressed by the exceptional quality of the entries, which highlighted how young people are able to apply their sociological imagination to gain a deeper understanding of our social lives.

We acknowledge and appreciate the dedication and hard work of all 174 participants in this year’s competition and their teachers, reflecting the vibrant interest in and ongoing relevance of the discipline.