Burgess Hill student wins Oxbridge summer course scholarship

Burgess Hill Sixth Form student Lucia Peel has beaten thousands of other students in an essay writing competition to gain a scholarship on one of Immerse Education’s summer courses at Oxford and Cambridge Universities. 

Immerse Education is an award-winning provider of immersive summer academic programmes for students led by tutors from world-class universities. Each year thousands of students enter their essay writing competitions with winners and runners-up securing scholarships at one of their summer programmes at Oxford or Cambridge University. 

Lucia Peel, a Sixth Form student at Burgess Hill Girls, was a runner-up in the 16 – 18-year-old category, with her response to the question: “How do nations obtain power and wealth?” Lucia’s essay, which you can read in full on the Burgess Hill Girls website, reached the conclusion that: “In essence, it is clear that nations can obtain wealth through mutually profitable collaborations or exploitation, with the former likely to empower a disempowered nation and the latter facilitated by existing power and likely to perpetuate the status quo.”

Lucia received excellent feedback from Immerse Education on her work, "Your essay was one that stood out from thousands of entries and our judges were very impressed."

She cannot wait to start the programme in the summer of 2024: "Although my main passions are studying Chemistry and Physics, I am also fascinated by global politics, so I hugely enjoyed the challenge of responding to this question. I am really happy to have been given this opportunity."

Burgess Hill Girls Head of Sixth Form, Iain-Regan Smith, is rightly proud of Lucia’s success. “Credit to Lucia for seeking out this opportunity to challenge herself, I am not surprised she succeeded. Every student at Burgess Hill Girls undertakes the Extended Project Qualification (EPQ) in their first year of Sixth Form, and it is rewarding to see Lucia develop further on her newly learned skills and interests to produce such a high-quality essay. Our unique BOLD programme attempts to give Sixth Form students all the skills and qualities they need to hit the ground running when they progress to university, but with this summer programme, Lucia will be even more prepared!”