Three pupils from a Shropshire college are celebrating after being successful in a national essay writing competition.

Two of the pupils at Ellesmere College achieved Merit Awards while the third was Highly Commended for their entries in the prestigious Jowett-Sendelaar Essay Competition run in collaboration with the Classical Association.

Kit Lewers and Aditi Chezhian are Year 9 pupils while Lucy Conway is in Year 8.

Melody Reynolds, gifted and talented coordinator for Ellesmere College, said: “This is a well established and highly regarded national competition and we are delighted that three of our pupils have been recognised in this way.

“The standard of entries is extremely high with each year seeming to surpass the last in terms of quality. All those who enter the competition work very hard and it is pleasing to see the efforts of so many rewarded.

“We are extremely proud of Kit, Aditi and Lucy and they are thrilled with their success.”

International Baccalaureate Coordinator Ian Tompkins, who also teaches Latin, Greek & Theory of Knowledge added: “We encourage our pupils every year to take part in a range of classics competitions to enhance their learning, and it was most pleasing to see their efforts rewarded.”

The competition sees pupils up to Year 9 have the opportunity to produce an essay from a range of titles.

Aditi and Lucy both achieved Merit Awards for their essays on the question ‘Was the eruption of Vesuvius in AD 79 a terrible tragedy, or should we be glad that it preserved Roman towns and villages for us to study?’

Kit tackled the subject ‘Which can tell us more about Greek and Roman religion: written sources or physical artefacts’ and gained a Highly Commended award for his efforts.

All three pupils have studied Latin, and Kit and Lucy also find time to learn Classical Greek, which helped them in their essay writing.

“The subjects were thought-provoking and required some considered thinking but all three came through with some excellent pieces of work that they can be justifiably proud of,” Melody added.

“This competition exercises the mind and is a marvellous way for youngsters to express themselves while having their work scrutinised in a professional, objective manner.”