The judges praised Osa Osifo, of Tiffin Girls’ School, Kingston upon Thames, for highlighting the work of Stacey Abrams in her article, ‘Those who toil in the shadows can be successful leaders too’, and Isaac Muirhead, of City of Stoke-on-Trent Sixth Form College, for his ‘reflective’ piece,
‘True leaders are forged in failure’.
Here are their articles.
Those who toil in the shadows can be successful leaders too
A good leader is a figure who is seen as a beacon of example and hope, but the interpretation of the word good is subjective. Does good denote a scrupulous person who leads their nation with idyllic and Utopian policies, no matter how unsuccessful? Or does good denote a figure whose ends justify their means; who does whatever it takes, no matter how cruel or unjust, to maintain peace and power? Despite their opposing ideologies, these antithetical leaders tend to have several qualities in common.
