Report On The Hellenic Society 125th Anniversary Schools’ Competition

Number of entries and questions answered:

There were 171 entries. 14 out of the 16 questions were attempted. In the Primary (KS2) Section there were 99 entries (97 on artwork of Heracles and the monster; 2 catalogues of the Olympic Gods). In the Junior (KS3) Section there were 57 entries (51 on artwork of the Warrior of Troy; 1 report on the Greek and Persian wars; 1 programme for the Olympics; 4 guidebooks showing Odysseus’ voyages). In the Intermediate Section (KS4) there were 6 entries (3 analyses of Homer’s poems; 2 ostracism speeches; 1 Panathenaic Festival guidebook). In the Senior/Sixth Form (KS5) Section there were 9 entries (1 on artwork of the Acropolis Monuments; 1 essay on Greek tragedy’s renaissance; 1 analysis of the Spartan legacy; 5 essays on the democracy of ancient Athens; 1 discussion of the relevance of the Hellenic Society today).

List of 26 Schools Competing:

North London Collegiate School; Birkdale School, Sheffield; Gateways School, Leeds; Old Palace School, Croydon; Portsmouth Grammar School; St Hilda’s School, Harpenden; Brentwood School; Sevenoaks School; Archbishop Wake First School, Blandford Forum; King’s House School, Richmond; St Mary’s School, Ascot; Haberdasher’s Monmouth School for Girls; Godolphin and Latymer School, London; Haberdashers’s Aske’s Boys School, Elstree; Nether Green Junior School, Sheffield; Northwood College; Winchester College; Cranleigh School; Honeywell Junior School, London; Nottingham High School for Girls; Windermere St Anne’s School, Cumbria; Newcastle Preparatory School; Colet Court School, London (St Paul’s Preparatory School); St Olave’s Grammar School, Orpington; Parkside Preparatory School, Stoke D’Abernon; Fettes College, Edinburgh.

KS2 (Primary Section): Winning Entries

(As well as the prize money - books, videos and other materials on ancient Greece worth approximately £100 were awarded to these prize-winners.)

James Cameron painted an impressive Heracles battling an almost squid-like Hydra amidst a really effective boggy landscape of greens and greys. The judges felt this painting to be one of the most carefully painted and extremely atmospheric and were pleased to declare it the Winner of the KS2 Section. Bethany Mary Duckworth, one of the youngest entrants, presented a fabulous fabric collage of Heracles attacking the Hydra – with the shiny snake-heads of the Hydra and Heracles burning one of the heads with his torch being very noteworthy and effective features. Jamie Armitage also chose the Hydra as the opponent for Heracles in his extremely colourful painting: his monster was attacking in the murky depths of night and was very much a fiersome dinosaur type.

Alice McDonald’s striking entry painted a diminutive Heracles amidst a swirl of multi-coloured Hydra heads. Ashley Pike modelled a wonderful Hydra with a spray of serpentine heads poking out of a giant snail-shell, and fiercely armed with curling wire spines. The Year 3 Art Class at Haberdasher’s Monmouth School for Girls had been learning about Ancient Greece and enjoyed taking part in the Competition as part of their studies. Together with a useful document of reports and photographs explaining their research and the processes of construction, they submitted a giant wall mural of Heracles battling a hybrid monstrosity.

KS3 (Junior Section): Winning Entries and Report

(As well as the prize money - books, videos and other materials on ancient Greece worth approximately £200 were awarded to these prize-winners.)

Felix Bauer Schlichtegroll’s impressive painted entry was incredibly detailed; and the maturity and sophistication exhibited here by a 13 year old suggested to the judges that Felix will make a very fine artist of the future indeed. He presented one canvas of his sketches and inspirations – showing the images he had examined and practised to illustrate such aspects as the detailed shape of the armour to the stance and physique of the warrior figure. Then he gave us the finished result: a glorious painting with a rich yellow background panorama of a magnificent warrior with his foot resting on the skull of one of his mortal enemies. The judges were unanimous in making him the KS3 Section Winner.

Jake O’Connell presented an impressive and detailed colour drawing of a striding warrior of Troy, sword unsheathed amidst a moody purplish background. Hugo Havranek painted one of the most atmospheric paintings in the whole Competition. His Trojan warriors lined an effectively moonlit shore as the ships of the Greeks approached the beach, and the silvery grey of the phalanx of warriors was only broken by a central splash of red in the costume of the leading fighter.

Rebecca Marshall presented a collage effect painting on the Troy theme with images of the goddesses, the ships sailing to Troy, the warriors and an excellent Trojan Horse embossed with strips of wood. Sarah Wesson entered an ingenious “dress-up” Trojan warrior where one could attach a variety of realistic costume, armour and weaponry to the basic warrior outline. Brendan Fitzpatrick painted a very effective panorama of Troy showing the warriors and citadel in excellent perspective. On the topic of Odysseus, Maddie Daniels created a fascinating 3D map of the ancient Mediterranean, with effective mountains and other natural features, and used this with a guidebook to show the voyages of the hero. Katharine Relph wrote a guidebook “Walk in the Steps of Odysseus” and showed a good research of the hero’s adventures with colourful and amusing illustrations and animated and ironic comments throughout. Matt hew Gibbard presented a well-researched pamphlet on the ancient Olympic Games with concise factual material and a good awareness of the competitions and the nature of the Festival. The Year 8 Classics Club at Haberdasher’s Monmouth School for Girls presented the fruits of a term of research and drama on the Troy theme, with a stand-up Trojan Horse and stand-up impressively-armed warrior decorated in a collage effect.

KS4 (Intermediate Section): Winning Entries and Report

(As well as the prize money - books, videos and other materials on ancient Greece worth approximately £60 were awarded to these prize-winners.)

Katie Neale’s essay had good scope, was fully engaged with the question asked, and covered many varieties of literary criticism in analysing the Odyssey. The judges thought there was much merit in her breadth of analysis and her attempt to adjudicate the poem, even if they did not always agree with every conclusion. Charlotte Watson’s piece on the Panathenaic Festival was very well presented with sensible sections and good organisation. There was clear understanding of the 8 days of the Festival and it was very useful on the procession and prizes, and she made intelligent modern contrasts.

Leo Davidson’s entry – a speech to ostracise Aristophanes – gave evidence of meticulous research and superb wide reading on the relationship between Cleon and his antagonist Aristophanes. Full of mature and sophisticated writing, Leo gave us an excellent demagogue-style speech from Cleon, delivered with great verve and panache. There was much creditable detail and accuracy about Cleon and Aristophanes and the politics of the plays. The judges had no hesitation in awarding it the clear Section Winner.

KS5 (Senior/Sixth Form Section): Winning Entries and Report

(As well as the prize money - books, videos and other materials on ancient Greece worth approximately £160 were awarded to these prize-winners.)

Cecilia Savundra presented an unusual entry on the relevance of the SPHS today: an antique looking box with a scroll of Greek in it and an English translation. The judges were impressed by the time and effort taken in transcribing the scroll – and although the ancient Greek did have some errors in syntax and agreement – for a 17 year old to write so much was an achievement. Some of the comments made were thought-provoking and showed some interesting thinking and attempt to philosophise. Rahul Mehta set out some of the facts about ancient democracy very clearly, and understood the revolution of ideas in the Periclean period. There were useful and perceptive comments about enfranchisement, liturgies, and imperialism; and clear understanding of the relationship between boule and ekklesia and juries. The summary and conclusion were very valid. Alistair Wardrope gave us quite an impressive entry by the youngest candidate here with good, pertinent reading. He could articulate the basic facts about ancient democracy and consistently made good comparisons between the Athenians and modern political situations.

Nicholas Fryer also wrote on Democracy had a very strong personal viewpoint and writing style, and made a refreshing and engaging read. He managed to articulate the points in a transparent way and gave his arguments with panache. William McGowan’s essay on Democracy was widely researched, with shrewd comments about modern democracies having oligarchic and autocratic elements – and he made good use of parallels in ancient and modern democracies. There were some very perceptive points about the jurists and assembly-members having cross-over of representation – and about the need for ancient and moderns to win over the “middle ground” (zeugitae = modern swing voters).

The judges found that Claire Greig’s essay on the legacy of the Spartans was a really very worthy attempt by a younger candidate than some of the others. She showed good research and wide reading in her bibliography. The essay had garnered an excellent range of relevant information about the Spartans and presented it very coherently, and the judges felt that all the information had been well understood. The comparisons with Athens and modern “misuses” of Sparta (eg the propaganda of Hitler) were particularly impressive.

After long consideration of the many worthy entries in this section, we declared Claire Greig the Section Winner.

Overall Competition Winner:

The judges had no hesitation in awarding the title of the winner of the overall Hellenic Society 125 th Anniversary Schools’ Competition to Leo Davidson, the winner of the Intermediate Section Winner. Many congratulations to him!

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