Is Putin a War Criminal? An Essay by Tuppence K., Year 12

Ahead of the prize-giving ceremony for this year’s John Locke Institute Global Essay Awards in October, St Mary’s is celebrating the success of Year 12 student Tuppence K., who has been shortlisted for this internationally prestigious competition.

Choosing the provocative and globally pertinent topic of war crime, Tuppence’s critical analysis distinguished itself from more than 63,000 world-wide entries. Her essay, "Is Putin a War Criminal", demonstrated clear, strong independent thought, as well as the depth of understanding needed to produce a persuasive and well-reasoned argument.

With aspirations to become a barrister, Tuppence writes both for the simple pleasure of it and to broaden her knowledge about current, complex and controversial issues, choosing Putin as her subject to get a better understanding of the person behind the press coverage.

Tuppence recognises the divisive nature of global conflict and acknowledges that of course not everybody is going to have the same opinions or the same understanding. However, she emphasises the importance of listening to the reasonings of others, even when they are not entirely grounded in fact.

“Being in an all-girls school that listens to all voices has given me more confidence to speak out about my convictions.”

She also says that she will be taking part in the competition again in future years, because:

“Essay writing provides the perfect opportunity for the curious to look more deeply into a subject and become better informed.”

Read more about "nurturing the intellectual humility and the courage to think differently" with the John Locke Institute

September 2025