Burgess Hill student wins Oxbridge summer course scholarship with essay that stood out from thousands of entries

Lucia Peel, from Burgess Hill Girls, gained a scholarship on one of Immerse Education’s summer courses at Oxford and Cambridge Universities.

Immerse Education is an award-winning provider of summer academic programmes led by tutors from world-class universities.

Lucia was a runner-up in the 16 to 18-year-old category, with her response to the question: “How do nations obtain power and wealth?”

Her essay, which is on Burgess Hill Girls website, said: “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.”

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Immerse Education told Lucia: “Your essay was one that stood out from thousands of entries and our judges were very impressed.”

Lucia said she cannot wait to start the programme, saying: “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.”

Burgess Hill Girls Head of Sixth Form, Iain-Regan Smith, said: “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.”