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Wellington College is delighted to celebrate Third Form student Tirion’s outstanding success in winning the prestigious Malim Prize for her original and deeply reflective piece of creative writing.
Awarded to a Third Form student each year, the Malim Prize recognises exceptional independent project work and forms a key part of Wellington’s academic extension programme, encouraging students to explore intellectual curiosity beyond the classroom.
Tirion’s ambitious project stood out for its sophisticated storytelling, historical depth and philosophical exploration of morality, responsibility and human nature. Inspired by a short passage she had written at her previous school, she transformed an early idea into a compelling novel centred around Emily, a protagonist gifted with the ability to travel through time.
However, rather than being guided by clear rules or outcomes, Emily is given only one vague instruction: to help people who need it.
As Emily journeys through pivotal moments in history, she is forced to navigate increasingly difficult moral dilemmas, often having to act quickly without knowing whether her decisions will improve or worsen events. Through the story, Tirion explores how history, perspective and circumstance shape our understanding of right and wrong.
Speaking in assembly following her win, Tirion reflected on the project’s development and the challenge of balancing historical research with creative storytelling.
“Writing this book allowed me to research great historical events and write about them in an engaging way, which made the process both challenging yet enjoyable.”
A significant part of the process involved extensive historical research to ensure the settings felt authentic and believable. Tirion combined her passion for both History and English to create a narrative that examined not only historical events, but also the complexity of human decision-making.
One of the central themes of the novel is the idea that morality is rarely straightforward. Throughout the story, characters, including the antagonist, believe they are acting for the right reasons, even when their actions cause harm.
“The book questions the belief that life is divided into clear categories of good and bad, heroes and villains,” Tirion explained. “In reality, most people exist somewhere in between.”
Tirion also spoke about the creative challenges involved in the project, particularly the discipline required to keep the story concise and focused, describing learning “what to cut” as one of the most important parts of the process.
To conclude her assembly presentation, Tirion read a powerful extract from the end of the novel, bringing together many of the themes explored throughout the book: choice, identity and the blurred boundaries between helping and harming.
“I choose my own path. I won’t let myself be ruled by a word. Or even two words. Light or dark.”
The Malim Prize offers Third Form students the opportunity to pursue ambitious independent projects across a range of categories, including Fragments, Creation, Curation, Speech or Monologue and Manifesto. Tirion’s winning submission was entered into the Creation category, which celebrates original artistic work across a variety of media, including creative writing, music, visual art and performance. Designed to foster creativity, scholarship and independent thinking, the programme encourages students to explore areas of genuine personal interest beyond the traditional curriculum.
Tirion’s achievement is a wonderful reflection of the creativity, intellectual ambition and independent thinking encouraged at Wellington College, and the entire College community congratulates her on this exceptional accomplishment.
To find out more about the Malim Prize and to read Tirion’s entry, click HERE.
