Student named ACT winner of Simpson Prize

By Ms Jeanette Clayton, Head of History, Philosophy and RaVE

The Simpson Prize is a national history essay competition for students in Years 9 and 10. The competition encourages participants to explore the significance of the ANZAC experience and what it has meant for Australia.

The essay question for 2025 was as follows: ‘Australia’s relationship with Great Britain explains why Australia and individual Australians went to war.’ Discuss the accuracy of this statement with reference to World War II.

Radford College student, Natalie Tam submitted an impressive essay on this topic in Term 4, 2024, and I am excited to announce that she was chosen as the ACT Simpson Prize winner for 2025.

Natalie was presented with this prize on Tuesday at Parliament House. She will be part of an overseas study tour to Japan and Singapore, which will include attending an official Anzac Day Dawn Service.

Natalie is to be congratulated on her thorough understanding of the topic and a sophisticated essay which made excellent use of source material. Well done, Natalie!