The Catholic Young Writer Award 2025 attracted a record 124 entries from Catholic secondary schools across the country. Two students gained first prize; one from De Lisle College in Loughborough and the other from Stonyhurst College in Lancashire. In second place, a student from Ampleforth College, Yorkshire and the other from St Mark’s Essex School.
Joanna Bogle, Catholic Young Writer Award, says: “My thanks to Antony Tyler CBE, who as Master of the Keys initiated this project many years ago and helped to make it the success that it has now become. This year, with the additional challenge of AI, we decided that all entries had to be hand written. Students did a marvellous job and presented much food for thought for the judges”.
Sponsored by the Catholic Union Charitable Trust, the Catholic Young Writer Award was launched over 30 years ago by The Keys, the Catholic Writers’ Guild of England and Wales.
The question set was CS Lewis’ statement on Christ: “A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said wouldn’t be a great moral teacher. He’d either be a lunatic on a level with a man who says he’s a poached egg, or else he’d be a devil of hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God, or else a madman or something worse” (1952).
Andrew Hutchinson, Head of RE at Stonyhurst College says: “Stonyhurst is delighted to announce that Jack has been awarded first prize in the Catholic Young Writers Award 2025 for his essay on why Christians believe Jesus is more than just a moral teacher. His work drew support from Sacred Scripture, the Catechism of the Catholic Church, and more recent papal reflections, and was enriched by C. S. Lewis’s well-known argument in Mere Christianity that Jesus must be either “Liar, Lunatic, or Lord.”
Congratulations to Jack on this outstanding accomplishment, which reflects his academic dedication and his enjoyment of Theology at the College”.
Emma Smith, Second in RE at De Lisle College says: “At De Lisle, our mission statement is to be ‘rooted and grounded in the love of Christ’. One way that we can ensure every student has the ability to grow is to give them as many extra-curricular opportunities as possible. We were excited to learn of the Catholic Union’s writing competition that allowed students to be able to demonstrate what they had already been learning about as part of the RE curriculum in a way that allowed them to put this faith into action. We are absolutely delighted to have so many of our students’ writing recognised in the competition and so proud to have a first-place winner. It is testament to all the work that goes on throughout the whole school that allows students to develop such a breadth of knowledge and skills”.
Professor Peter Hindmarsh, Chair of the Catholic Union Charitable Trust says: “The Catholic Young Writer Award is an important part of what the Catholic Union stands for, understanding and championing faith in public life. My sincere congratulations to all those who took part and we were delighted to announce the winners at our AGM presided over by our President, Baroness Hollins, and Bishop Richard Moth”.
Joanna Bogle announcing the winner of the Catholic Young Writer Award at the Catholic Union’s AGM 2025.