THE KYTOS AWARD FOR ACADEMIC WRITING 2025-26
ENDORSED BY THE LINNEAN SOCIETY OF LONDON
The Linnean Society of London, founded in 1788, is the world’s oldest active biological society. Named after the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus, whose system of classification underpins modern biology, the Society has played a central role in the development of the life sciences. In 1858 it hosted the first public presentation of Charles Darwin and Alfred Russel Wallace’s theory of natural selection. The Society’s endorsement reflects the academic standards and spirit of scientific inquiry that the KYTOS Award for Academic Writing aims to foster in young biologists.
This unique KYTOS competition will take place each year, providing an essay title that poses an interesting biological question. The winning essay will not only show a flair for Biology, but a comprehensive understanding of the issue being discussed.
COMPETITION WINNERS:
The overall winning essay, and highly commended runner up will be published not only on the KYTOS website, but also featured on The Linnean Society of London website.
Overall winner: Olive R (Y1) - HeLa Cells
Highly commended: Megan S (Y1) - Nanoclays
2025/6 Essay Title:
‘...find wonder in everything, even the most commonplace'.
Carl Linnaeus, 1751
What has been the greatest biological discovery of the 20th century?
.avif)
Who can enter?
The 'KYTOS Award for Academic Writing - endorsed by The Linnean Society of London' is open to students across both year groups.
How long should the essay be?
The essay should be up to 1500 words (not including references). Any submissions that exceed this limit will be penalised.
What are the prizes?
Prizes for the winner include:
• Your essay published on The Linnean Society of London’s official website
• A feature piece in the Linnean News (subject to editorial scheduling and standard publication guidelines).
• Promotion of your essay via the Linnean Society’s social media channels
• An invitation to Burlington House in London to receive a specially commissioned certificate
• Your essay published both on the KYTOS website and homepage of ‘The Sixth Form College, Farnborough’
• A book token of substantial value
Whilst students often enter essay competitions run by individual universities, having The Linnean Society of London name attached to this award offers broader, internationally recognised credibility on your UCAS application. It demonstrate academic engagement beyond a single institution, and to win such a competition would be a fantastic engage with biology beyond the classroom.
How will the essays be judged?
All entries will be marked by members of the Biology department, and scored out of 10 in each of the four key areas; scientific content, breadth, relevance and quality of written communication. The student who scores the highest out of 40 shall win the award. In the event of a tie, the Principal will be asked for her input.
What are the judges looking for?
– Essays which interpret the title in a creative way.
– Essays that demonstrate a good knowledge of the underlying science, and that use references to back up their arguments.
– Essays that are well structured and develop their arguments clearly.
* Any essay submitted without references will not be considered.
In no way should any of the essay content be plagiarised.
If you need help with how to reference sources used, download the KYTOS Guide here:
When is the closing date?
The deadline for entries is TBC (usually the end of the autumn term). Results of the competition will be released soon after that date.
How to enter
Once you have written your essay and added any references, please email it to risaacs@farnborough.ac.uk as a word or PDF attachment. In your email, please include your full name and year group.
