Author Zadie Smith, second from left, with winners of the inaugural Zadie Smith Prize for Writing, from left, Koshin Ahmed, 17, Aleks Griebel-Phillips, 17, and Leema Ferdous, 17. Picture: Polly Hancock (Image: Archant)
Award-winning novelist and essayist Zadie Smith returned to her old school to hand out writing prizes to pupils.
The White Teeth author gave out medals, books, and vouchers to the winner and runners-up of an essay competition at Hampstead School in Cricklewood in a ceremony on Thursday.
Aleks Griebel-Phillips, 17, won the inaugural Zadie Smith Prize for Writing with his essay titled: Infinitely Many Worlds Exist.
The contest aimed to encourage critical thinking amongst its sixth-formers. Teacher Jun Bo Chan, who founded the competition, said: “Not only were the essays impressive, but perhaps more importantly, it is noteworthy that the students put their extracurricular time to good use.”
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