The 2027 Tony Hibbert Prize has officially launched!
After a very successful first year of the competition, the prize, which is a collaboration between the University of Exeter, Cornwall, the Hibbert family, and Trebah Garden, returns with a new theme for 2027.
Find Sanctuary
The theme for the 2027 competition is ‘Finding Sanctuary’.
The judges are looking for entries that engage with this theme by students who can link their interest in the history of modern war with the world we live in today.
Whether through creative writing, a journalistic essay, art, digital storytelling, or filmmaking, students are invited to develop projects that encourage their audiences to think about the relationship between 20th century conflict and the challenges the world faces today. Judges will award marks based on:
- Engagement with the theme
- Creativity in approach – innovative angle on the content, original interpretation of the theme, challenging preconceptions/misconceptions
- Content – clear, accurate, imaginative, and informative
- Effective communication – presented and communicated in an engaging way
- A passion for history and its present day relevance
- Proper acknowledgement of any sources used
The deadline for the competition is 12pm on Friday 23 April 2027.
Workshops
On 10 February 2027, there will be a one-day workshop, in person on the University of Exeter’s Cornwall Campus in Penryn, to give competition entrants the chance to experience what it is like to study Modern History at university level and to answer any questions they may have about the competition and how to enter.
About the Tony Hibbert Prize
The award was set up by Catriona Pennell, Professor of Modern History and Memory Studies, HaSS Cornwall, and invites Cornish school students in years 7 to 13 (Key Stages 3-5) to develop creative responses which link their interest in the history of modern war with the world we live in today.
Whether through creative writing, a journalistic essay, art, digital storytelling, or filmmaking, students are invited to develop projects around a set theme that will encourage them to think about the relationship between 20th century conflict and the challenges the world faces today.
Established in memory of Second World War veteran Major Tony Hibbert, the award recognises that which was most important to Tony; courage, resistance, tolerance, and an appreciation of history as a discipline.
